Starting a Business is never an easy thing, it is a very challenging and lonely journey simply because how our friends started does not mean if we follow suit we will be as lucky as them.
Getting clients, signing deals, getting capital, funding and getting some recognition has never been an easy exercise and unfortunately it is never an ending until you actually crack how to do things.
But also i have just three little things to mention that we need to be careful of in the name of business. Spending so much time doing this things might be a total waste of time instead of concentrating on what matters most.
1. Chasing customers
We do this in many ways. It is basically our Marketing or Advertising strategies. It could be through Word of mouth, Websites, Flyers, Business cards and many more ways. But i say please do it in a way that your potential clients won’t get annoyed and want to run away from you when they see you. I agree Passion is too important but shape it nicely when selling your services or products to your clients.
Tell me once or twice about your product but please don’t be in my face all the time forcing me to buy. Do not remind me every chance you get, especially if i have shown interest. I do not discourage follow ups but do them in a very nice way where i wouldn’t even realise. The thing is i might show interest in your product but not ready to buy instantly, therefore you don’t want to be so pursuing that i loose the same interest.
Now that i know about your product, look for another creative way to convince me, even if you are not showing me directly believe me it might grab my attention and i end up giving in. Maybe do some Demonstrations. Chasing after same client over and over to purchase your product sort of remove the essence to need the product, it reveals so much that it is only the money you are looking for and shows too much of desperation. I would like to believe that you started the business because you wanted to solve our problems, now you don’t want to loose the meaning by being too pushy. I know this because i sure knows how it feels when it is done to me and i see how people react to it, it is not pleasing. I also do various things to attract potential clients, some they are referred to me by people i haven’t worked with but because they have seen something and somehow they believe in me. Don’t waste so much time following Dee for 6 months in hope of buying, more ready clients are passing by while you chasing one client for long. Be Creative.
2. Applying for Tenders / Funding
You might have with you a perfect Business idea and have a good plan for it but not able to move forward with because of limited resources. What do you do? Of course you don’t let good idea die but also do not spend so much time looking for capital, filling thousands of application forms and be so hopeless that it even feels like there is nothing you can do without. What if you start doing something achievable and that you can afford to assist in obtaining the capital for your big idea? I for example my initial Business idea was Property Business, i had registered the business and have the Business plan for it but i had some difficulty in getting capital to start because property requires so much money and it is not every institution that will be willing to help you from scratch so i decided to start the current business and not to say i am less passionate about but i could afford to start without being funded. I started it without a laptop or my own Computer by the way. I started knowing that the current business will help fund the property.
Very soon actually i will convert my private property into Business and be able to grow both my Accounting and property Businesses. We really can start small while we try obtain those funding. The thing is the Funding thing is not guaranteed because if it was i would not have a problem if we spend so much looking for them. Just don’t lose your focus.
3. Chasing Quotations
It’s no secret that a request for a quote give us so much hope that at least a client is buying and we are getting an Income but also let us not lose focus because it is a quote. A quote means a client is testing waters, comparing your prices with that of your competition. A quote is a dummy Invoice! So therefore a quote aint a guarantee that they are buying.
Also don’t waste so much of your time chasing after quotes because if they are ready and sold they will definitely come back. Like i said earlier while you are chasing one quote, many of potential clients whom would like to be invoiced are passing by. Because a quote is not a guaranteed purchase you cannot also hold the client responsible, under which law? Sometimes we as clients use this quotations to plan for the future.
When they request for a quote please submit but with an open mind that it might not convert into sales immediately or might never. Do follow ups but have a strict time limit.
Compiled by Dikeledi Seoloane – on behalf of Matsobanemetja Business Consulting, Coaching Division.
http://www.matsobanemetja.co.za
Matsobanemetja Business Consulting Pty Ltd 