Are you a new business owner who is so impatient, and passionate, and you just want to get started selling to your target market? If your answers are yes to the above questions, take a step back and think about your future success just for a minute.
Lets take the example of a fictitious person opening a new coffee shop. This person is so excited and can't wait to show off the coffee shop to all of his/her connections. Invites are sent out to come along to the opening of the coffee shop and everyone replies with a big loud YES, they will be attending.
One by one around 60 people arrive at the coffee shop, which is in a good location.
One by one they open the door and enter the coffee shop, and they look around....and take a second look. What do they see?
- A large space with a counter
- A nicely tiled floor
- Tables but no chairs scattered around the space
What don't they see?
- Staff behind the counter serving coffee.
- Refreshments, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and cookies etc.
- A cash till or iPad to take care of the transactions.
- Chairs for people to sit on.
What just happened everyone is thinking quietly, not wanting to be the first one to state the obvious. The coffee shop owner is running around greeting everyone asking if they like his new coffee shop, which will be up and running in about 3 months!
Silently everyone feels uncomfortable, they were not made aware that the coffee shop was under construction, so to speak, they were expecting coffee and a place to sit and enjoy the experience. They were disappointed.
What just happened is plain and simple, the owner decided to try to sell something before he was ready, before he had finished the final product/service, in this case a coffee shop. He was so impatient and excited to showcase his new business and start selling to his contacts, he made the biggest mistake he could make.
Think about this from your perspective, you want to support your contact, but 3 months is a long time, a lot can happen until then. Maybe you would just walk away and forget to come back? How can you refer something that is not ready yet?
Liken this to when people join LinkedIn and can't be bothered to complete their profile, add a photo, think about their headline, add their products & services, achievements, to name a few things essential to their success when using LinkedIn. These people connect to everyone hoping someone will want what they are selling, but why would they? A few reasons could be:
- They have no website
- They have no online presence when people search for them
- They have not built relationships with anyone, they are in fact an unknown, there is no trust at this point.
Don't try to run before you can walk, build solid foundations before you iSnvite anyone into your business and start selling something that is not ready yet. Avoid disappointment and failure and build the foundations needed to have a successful business.
The coffee shop owner did open for business 3 months later, but sadly the 60 or so people who came to see his empty space never came back, they had already wasted time, and time is money. Their was no guarantee they would not be disappointed the second time around.
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