Seven Secrets to Building a Successful Business Introductions The - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Seven Secrets to Building a Successful Business

Introductions The Seven Secrets to Building a Successful Business The Essential Tools Incredible Offer!!!

Today’s Agenda

Just for attending you get…

• Copy of the Presentation
• Link to the Recording
• Ultimate Business Building Toolkit

Vision & Mission Checklist Competitive Positioning Matrix Workbook Competitive Grid Workbook Defining and Segmenting Workbook Product Strategy Workbook

The Ultimate Business Building Toolkit

Target Market Workbook Thought Leadership Workbook Unique Competitive Advantage Worksheet Positioning Strategy Workbook Pricing Strategy Workbook

Secret #1

Eliminate All Fear

Fear of failure is the #1 thing that stops an entrepreneur

“No one loves my idea”

Solution:

Keep talking to people Find the right audience for your idea Refine your idea as you get feedback The more clarity you have around your idea, the less fear you will have about executing it Don’t be afraid to walk away from an idea if it does not make a feasible business

Eliminate All Fear

“My idea isn’t really new”

Solution:

It’s enough to offer an improvement to an existing product or service The fact you are offering it might just make it new – add you personal ingredient to the idea. Idea might be old but target audience, pricing model, or location might be new. Offer add-on services to enhance the solution Offer one small change to the existing product

Eliminate All Fear

“My idea is Too Vague”

Solution:

Hit the books do more research. Develop concrete facts and proof points People must understand how your specific idea solves a specific problem What is the unaddressed need your ideas solves Get really clear on what problem you are solving? Create a realistic vision

Eliminate All Fear

“My idea is too big”

Solution:

Break down the idea into discrete, manageable steps Think smaller at the beginning Launch the first part of your vision not the entire vision Make smaller investments and move your idea forward in steps People must be able to clearly understand what you are trying to achieve Get your idea out there to test the waters (farmers market, sell on Amazon or Etsy, or use Kickstarter to validate your idea.

Eliminate All Fear – Being Overwhelmed

Get clear on exactly what you are trying to create

The more clear, the less fear Write a business plan to see if your idea is feasible or not

Create momentum

Show your idea Talk about your idea Research your idea

Break things down into small bite-size pieces

You will not feel so overwhelmed

Take Action

Push through the fear and take action

Tips to Eliminate Fear

Secret #2

Creating a Compelling Vision

A vision helps to guide, direct, motivate and inspire everyone with your business A Vision is…

Your dream for the business Far reaching Aspirational Says what you will ultimately become Original Goes out 5, 10 or even 20 years Tells a story Solves a big problem

Create a Compelling Vision

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss, you will still be among the stars”

• Les Brown

Some words / phrases to use when describing your vision…

Revolutionize Next-Generation Re-invent Create Highest quality Innovative Fulfill

Create a Compelling Vision

Ask yourself these questions to help formulate your vision statement What do you ultimately want to do or create?

Revolutionize Create Invent

What do you want your company to be?

The best at The most The biggest

Creating a Compelling Vision

For whom do you want to do this?

All people (worldwide) Millions of (men, women, kids, parents)

How will the world / industry be different with your idea? Why does your idea matter to the world, country, community, etc?

Creating a Compelling Vision

Some examples… Telsa - Accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy Wikipedia - Imagine a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. Southwest Airlines – To become the world’s most loved, most flown and most profitable airline. Space X - Enabling people to live on other planets.

Create a Compelling Vision

Secret #3

Embrace Your Competition

Why

Competition validates the market Investors want to know there is a market Allows you to position your product or service against something It means the market is more likely to understand what you are selling – you don’t have to educate them

You Want Competition!

But I have no competition … Think again

Direct Competition

Providing an exact or similar product or service to you

Indirect Competition

Providing an alternative to your product or service Could even be free or a low cost option Watch out for Amazon

You Want Competition!

Indirect Competition Direct Competition

Example – Catering Business

Direct Competition

Other boutique caterers in the area Corporate catering services Personal chefs

Indirect Competition

Grocery stores Restaurants BBQ on wheels Food trucks

You Want Competition!

You want to know EVERYTHING you possibly can about your competition.

Embrace Your Competition

The more you know, the better you can Compete against them Evolve (refine) your business Create unique competitive differentiation

#1. Keep a Competitive Binder (either digital or physical)

Contains everything you can find out about your competition

Screen shots of their website Brochures Packaging Photos (of their locations, stores, facilities, etc.) Articles and other research

Provides a visual representation of what your competition is doing Needs to be continually updated

3 Key Competitive Tools

Other ways to get information about your competitors Visit their business

Talk to workers Take photos Buy something (both offline and online) Return something Observe conversations with customers

Call their business

What is their level of customer service How knowledgeable are the reps Observe how they sell

Go to a trade show

Embrace Your Competition

#2. Analyze “the heck” out of their website

Tells you so much about your competition

How they are positioned Their target market Pricing and discounting strategy Product or service (both the breadth and depth

• f their solution)

Unique selling proposition and messaging Quality of solution Level of customer service Locations

3 Key Competitive Tools

#3. The Competitive Grid

Allows you to collect and track your competition Must be continuously updated Recommendation: Track at least 10 competitors Use this to help determine your Unique Competitive Advantage

3 Key Competitive Tools

#3. The Competitive Grid – What to track?

Strengths Weaknesses Market segment Target customer Estimated revenues Estimated market share Pricing Packaging

3 Key Competitive Tools

Positioning strategy Customer service Quality of product or service Years in business Number of customers Website address Social media presence

3 Key Competitive Tools

Secret #4

Get Your Product or Service to Market Quickly

Most entrepreneurs want to launch a perfect product but it is usually much better to launch a good product faster than a perfect product in the distant future.

Get Your Product to Market Quickly

A Better Answer – Minimal Viable Product (MVP)

You must create something of value that the customer will pay for and receive value from. It must be functional Must stand on its own Can not be unfinished or shoddy Can be a subset of your overall vision You must set proper expectations with your customers (don’t oversell)

But why do this?

Get Your Product to Market Quickly

Provides invaluable feedback.. You will learn what customers “really” want You can test the market and adjust accordingly Begin to learn how to market and sell your product Discover what marketing messages work and don’t work Discover which sales channels work best Refine your pricing Create revenue Most entrepreneurs wait too long to create revenue which feeds more product development

Minimal Viable Product (MVP)

Tricks to enhance your MVP without additional product development time or costs Enhance product offering with additional services Supplement your product with other add-on products to round out your offering until you have time to develop them White label technology or product components

Minimal Viable Product (MVP)

Example – GoPro

Secret #5

Become a Thought Leader

Thought Leadership is the cornerstone of an effective marketing program Establishing yourself as an expert in your industry or craft. Customers want to buy from thought leaders / experts Customers will pay more for your products or services You can sell your thought leadership (i.e. high end consulting services, education, etc.) Become a celebrity in your industry

What is a Thought Leadership

Who would you rather cook you a gourmet dinner? Gordon Ramsey Thomas Keller Rachel Ray OR Some no name chef who might be very good And who would you pay more money for?

Customers want to buy from Experts

Take your knowledge and current expertise and package it so a larger audience can benefit from your information. Position yourself as the expert. You already know more about your craft than 99.9% of the population Write a book Speak at every conference you can Do webinars and workshop Publish industry benchmarks Write articles Start a YouTube Channel

Become a Thought Leader

Start a Podcast Make guest appearances on other Podcasts Start a blog Create an online course Post regularly on all of the social media platforms Hire a PR specialist to create press attention Make appearances on traditional media

Radio shows Expert on TV talk shows and news shows Guest columnist

How to Become a Thought Leader

Gives you tons of creditability Incredible source of lead generation Helps you in closing deals Reinforces your customer’s buying decision (buying from you was the right choice).

Why thought leadership is so important

Integrate your thought leadership into all of your marketing strategies Have a clear plan for building your platform Start small with just a few videos, emails or blog posts You must have a person be the face of your thought leadership platform Create unique content Be consistent – publish content regularly Stay on-brand Have a point of view on how things should be done Repurpose your content in different forms COLLECT AN EMAIL ADDRESS FROM EVERYONE

Your Keys to Success

Secret #6

Build Your Platform

A solid Platform allows you to continuously communicate directly to people interested in what you have to offer. Goes beyond marketing to a true communication strategy Allows you to speak with a megaphone Think of your platform as a bunch of connections that you can reuse again and again Your platform is a huge and important asset of your company Promote “YOU” as the thought leader or the company’s products and services

Build Your Platform

Collect as many email addresses as you can…PERIOD Emails are one of your most valuable assets and strongest ways to communicate your message to your customers. Create thought leadership pieces (eBook, articles, educational video) and make them available in exchange for an email address Collect emails at trade shows, in store, speaking events, etc. You can email your customers once a week or more as long as you have something of value to say. Alternate product promotion emails with other content they would find valuable.

Strategies to Building Your Platform

Build Your Social Media Channels More followers = more opportunities to reach your audience Deliver content that is valuable to them not just product promotions

Tips and Quotes Educational videos (short form – 1 minute or long form) Short articles eBook Share other articles as posts

You must post regularly – frequency depends on you but once a weeks is good guidance

Strategies to Building Your Platform

Run educational online Workshops and Webinars Create a short thought leadership presentation that provides true value Promote on social media Post to YouTube or consider doing YouTube Live

• r Facebook Live as well.

Strategies to Building Your Platform

Secret #7

Create an Awesome Go to Market Strategy

What is a Go-To-Market Strategy

The is the core strategy for creating how your customers will view your product or service in the market. It is a key component of your sales and marketing strategy. Without it your sales and marketing strategy will be much less effective. All of the components (strategies) to the Go-To-Market Strategy must be in sync with each other.

Your Target Market defines the specific group of customers that you are speaking to. Who would be most attracted to your product or service?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy

Your Unique Competitive Advantage defines how “your” company (or product) is different from the competition. What makes your product or service unique, special and different?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy

Your Positioning Strategy defines how your product or service is seen in the minds of your consumers. How do you want your customers to view your product or service?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy

Your Pricing Strategy defines both how you will charge your customers and how much What is the pricing model for your product or service?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy

Your Unique Selling Proposition defines what value your customer will get from your product or service. What is the unique value your customers will receive from your product or service?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy

Your Messaging Strategy defines the actual messages you will communicate to your customers who want to buy your product or service. What are the key messages you want to communicate to your customers to get them to buy?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy

Your Packaging Strategy defines how all of this comes together in one cohesive strategy. Are each one of your strategies consistent with the others? Do they all make sense together?

The Key to Success of your Go To Market Strategy