Succeeding as an entrepreneur often seems like a daunting task, especially at the beginning stages. Still, there are things you can do to make this process easier and more systematic. Here are four of the best ones.
Your Best Foot Forward
As a starting entrepreneur, it will probably be a while before you build a name for yourself and recognition for your brand. Even hyper-successful individuals like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg had to wait before Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook became household names.
As such, one of the best things you can do is leave a positive, long-lasting impression on your potential clients. Among many other things, this includes looking your best, being on time, and keeping your promises. In essence, you have to behave professionally because that is what you are, a serious business professional.
If you don’t own a respectable suit, buy one along with a pair of business shoes, a nice shirt, and a sleek tie. And while you are at it, stop by JC Dental & Implant Studio and get your teeth checked. Whether you believe it or not, your physical presence and presentation are very telling to the people you meet. It shows effort, commitment, and respect. These are things all clients will value.
Personalized Solutions
In most cases, your business will fall into one of two categories. The first is an enterprise in the provision of retail products and services. The second is an operation where your clientele is other organizations, not individual people. Let us look at examples of what a personalized solution entails in each one.
If you own a small bakery, in all likelihood, you will not be able to offer a million different things to a million different customers. But that doesn’t mean you cannot customize to individual needs. For instance, if one of your customers needs a cake for a party next week, you could change an ingredient here or there to meet his nutritional requirements. Or you could offer either a smaller or bigger size specific to this occasion.
For institutional firms, customization is small changes that make a big difference. If you make corporate sites with one menu and two submenus, you could offer more to one of your customers or change the layout you normally use. You could also add a few social media links for advertising and promotion.
The more personalized the solution, the more unique and special your clients will feel and the better the chances of them returning.
Great After-sales
One of the biggest hits of the Steve Miller Band is the classic Take the Money and Run. Recorded in 1976, it tells the story of two bandits running away from the police after committing a heist. Needless to say, this is not how you should approach your after-sales strategy, at least if you want to keep your business profitable and maintain its reputation.
Once a customer has purchased something from you, it is very tempting to stop there. After all, the money is already in your pocket, and whatever else you do, you are doing it for free. And nobody wants to work for free.
However, you need to look at it with a bird’s eye view and a long-term perspective.
In many cases, a simple call every one or two months will suffice. As long as you are honest and call to check on your customer and not sell something else, he will appreciate it. Most importantly, he will remember you when it’s time for a second purchase.
Till You Make It
Belief is something incredibly powerful. At the same time, it is very difficult to define or quantify. If you believe in something or someone a lot as opposed to a little, it is not easy to put a threshold on what this means. Regardless of what the case may be, one thing is unquestionable. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will believe in you. If you don’t feel you don’t belong where you are, perhaps you really don’t, and you should go somewhere else.
Believing in yourself as an entrepreneur and in your business idea is not the same as lying. If you cannot do what your customer asks you to do, the last thing you want is to promise something you cannot fulfill. Rather, it’s about letting clients know that while small and young, your company has what it takes to succeed. In addition, you have the right attitude and the determination to see it through.
If you want your business to flourish, show your best self and customize your products and services as much as possible. Finally, provide exceptional after-sales service and believe in yourself and what you are doing. It will give you the greatest chances of corporate prosperity.
