FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The answer to this question is best answered by what type of business you’re marketing. There are different obstacles faced by retail-based, service-based, and home-based businesses.

RETAIL-BASED:
If you are retail-based, one of your biggest obstacles might be getting customers through your front door. Of course, this is also assuming you have a clean, welcoming store, great inventory to choose from, and your staff is knowledgeable and customer friendly. Having these in place are crucial in completing the buying process.

So, the next step would be getting potential business in the door. A few things you might want to try in order to accomplish this are hosting a special event at your location, starting a membership-type club (where you give a special discount for joining), co-sponsoring a community event, offering your office as a meeting place, or even hosting “how-to” seminars about what you do. Of course, there are thousands of other creative ways to “drive in business”, but these are just a few suggestions to get you started.

SERVICE-BASED:
An obstacle a lot of service-based businesses face is conveying their expertise to their targeted audience. Some great ways to overcome this are to become better known in the community (through networking, volunteering, and fund raising events), writing articles of interest for various publications, speaking to groups, keeping in touch (through newsletters, postcards, notes, invitations, etc.), and teaming up and partnering with others that cater to the same audience without competing.

HOME-BASED:
And, last but not least, a common obstacle shared by home-based businesses is being taken serious as a legitimate business in the first place. This is an obstacle not to be taken lightly. Many a home-based business owner thinks that because they started their business out of their home means they don’t have to spend much money keeping it afloat. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you want to see big results and profits, you need to consider investing in it properly. It’s worth having a professional design and print all your marketing materials (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, etc.). And, don’t forget your website and email address, too. You want to have every advantage your competition has in obtaining new business. So, set up and run your business just like you would if you were in an office setting.

Hope these ideas help (and, of course, there are lots more to consider). Should you need additional help, just give me a call. I would love to discuss your challenges with you! Also, check out our services!





This can be tricky if you're not good at selling yourself or are afraid to ask others for money. If you have been speaking to groups (associations and organizations) on an ongoing basis and you're getting plenty of referrals and business, it might be time to start charging a fee.

If you're not getting referrals and business from speaking, it might mean you either need to practice your presentation more or you're not marketing effectively to these groups.

To find out if this is the case, you might want to hire a presentation coach to steer you in the right direction. For marketing tips, you might want to think about hiring a consultant to map out an effective plan.

For more information on speaking, check out our speaking workshops!