Success in Business!
Business is tough, and there are few guarantees of success. But the good news is that there is some hope. Take this post as a guide to not only stay afloat, but thrive in your business ventures. From how to deal with rejection to how to cultivate a winning mindset among your teammates, this blog post will help you navigate the turbulent waves of entrepreneurship so that we might all find success in business together.
I. The Art of Rejection
1) How to Deal with Rejection from Potential Customers
When it comes to cold-calling and door-knocking, there are two common traps that entrepreneurs fall into when trying to drum up business. The first, as mentioned before, is rejection. The second is persistence. Not being able to distinguish the difference between these two concepts can be deadly in business since they are very different in effect.
2) Don't Be Afraid of Rejection
When you get a "no" from a potential customer the best thing you can do is move on and seek out another prospect. Why?
"The first rule of business is to make things happen. The second rule is, when you don't make things happen, assume that they will not." – Peter Drucker
While it may be daunting to get rejected by someone you're meeting for the very first time at their office building (which is the most common place that people get rejected), it's actually easier than you might think.
3) The Fine Art of Persistence When going out on sales calls and making cold calls, you must develop a strong mental endurance to withstand the frustration that comes from being shut down over and over again. Overcoming your fear of rejection will only come with time and experience.
"And though the waves of adversity may sometimes beat over me, never will they prevail." – Samuel Johnson
4) The Power of Negative Thinking
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make when trying to get people to listen to you is to assume that if no one wants to listen then they probably don't want what you have. It also assumes that no one will want what you do as well. While it is a generalization for the most part, it's not all bad because this assumes that people are either interested in your business or your idea. It also proves that there is a certain degree of validity in your business since it wasn't just dismissed without questioning or considering the validity of it all.
5) Always Have a Back-up Plan
If you take anything away from this post, it should be that you need to have a back-up plan. Whether it's trying another method of gathering clients or contacting a different type of customer that you haven't tried yet, make sure that your overall business plan has contingencies for every contingency.
6) The Power of Persuasion
The reason why your persistence is so important in cold calling and knocking on doors is because you are not only selling an idea but selling yourself as well. You want to show them the best parts of who you are and how the product or service that they're delivering will help people.
7) Realize that Success is Relative
Rejection, persistence and the power of persuasion should be applied to every person in business. The reason why it's important to learn these lessons is not because they're going to make or break you, but because they will prepare you for success in many different ways.
8) The Importance of a Trusted Team
The other thing that this post hopes to instill into entrepreneurs is the importance of the team that you work with.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep. Work hard, be diligent, and make your dreams come true." – Unknown
II. Finding a Winning Team
9) The Power of Charisma
Some people are naturally gifted with the ability to work people. They're charming, they're witty and they encourage great conversation over great cups of coffee. It's important to know these types of people when you're trying to find a winning team because they can help influence the minds of clients towards buying your product or service. While not everyone will be gifted with an outgoing personality, you can easily form relationships which may end up being very lucrative in terms of business.
10) The Importance of Diverse Backgrounds
Another thing to take into account is the team that you're building. While finding smart and driven people that are passionate about your business is a great thing, it's also important to be aware of the types of backgrounds that they have. While business is an industry where diversity is generally celebrated, it's important to be aware that not all people are created equal in intelligence or business acumen.
11) Establish Trust Amongst Your Team
If you have a great team, then you need to treat them equally and establish trust amongst each other so that there isn't a hierarchy in the workplace. It's important to be aware of the type of business you're building so that you don't need to worry about splitting the money equally. The team that you're building can provide multiple benefits in the long run – namely higher revenues and more quality output from all team members.
12) Building a Winning Team Does Not Require Elite Intelligence
Trusting your team to do their job is not only important for trust, but also profitability. While intellectual horsepower is great, it's important to know your limits and realize what kind of skills are required for the type of business that you're running. The best thing that you can do is get a feel for what your specific team needs and build them accordingly.
III. The Art of Persuasion
13) The Art of Persuasion
The idea behind the implementation of this piece is that to get a business, you need people with money and the great news is that you have a lot of two-way options in terms of getting people to buy your product or service.
14) Don't Let Hustlers Prevail Over Your Product or Service
One of the most common mistakes that are made by entrepreneurs is comparing their product or service to another similar one and then failing at surpassing it. For example, if you're selling an article writing service then don't compare yourself to Wikipedia and other free article writing services by offering them free blogs for their users.
Conclusion
If you take anything away from this post, you should firstly realize that it is better to try and fail than to never try. Second, build your team based on the needs that you have in mind rather than stick with the stereotypes of intelligence or emotional development that a person will have. Lastly, when trying to sell an idea or product, don't go for the obvious. While these points may seem obvious if we're talking about building a strong business team, it's important to get these lessons down since they can directly contribute towards your long-term success in business.
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Success in Business!