A terrible thing happens without marketing – and it’s called nothing.
Not sure when or where I first heard that statement or words to that effect anyway, but it has remained true regardless. No matter what business you are in and no matter what products or services you want to sell you have to be able to generate sales to produce revenue and revenue to get profits.
Over the years I have marketed and sold a number of things. Sometimes I have done very well and others not nearly as well as I had wanted. Yet in every instance, I have learned valuable lessons.
The first thing I want you to take a moment to consider is this – Everyone on earth is already in sales to some extent whether they realize it, whether they like it or not.
To get a job, a raise, or to work on a specific project – all require sales skills.
So do your personal relationships, and all other relationships for that matter – you must be able to influence other people to take action.
Beyond that, it is absolutely required in any kind of business relationship from the most basic to the most advanced. So embrace the concept – and start learning some basic skills now.
My earliest attempt to make money from my first “business” was to go door to door offering to cut people’s grass as a kid. Even then the results you get depend on the words you use, your body language and other things all play a part in whether you get a yes or a no to your offer.
Later in life, I sold real estate, both homes to homeowners and properties to investors – and rented hundreds of properties as a property manager.
In my own businesses, I have sold investment properties, rented my own rental properties, sold commercial cleaning services to restaurants and other businesses and I have sold woodcraft projects, crates, furniture, soap, candles, bath and body products, billing and claims processing services, and my own books, courses, and training programs. Beyond that I have recruited, multiple hundreds of people into trucking and others into other specific business ventures.
All of these things require marketing and sales.
Sometimes my attempts were less than good – and I learned by trial and error, experience and an occasional book or course here and there. Other lessons I learned from mentors along the way and I learned many lessons from watching what other people did to learn from there efforts – both what worked and what failed miserably.
Regardless of what business you have or what business you want to start to build and grow yourself – you have to be able to market it, to attract prospects and convert those prospects into customers and clients. Otherwise, you will not have much of a business.
This applies to brick and mortar business and online businesses too by the way. Even locally – even in small towns – most people go online FIRST to look for services and products they want and need.
While you can learn from trial and error and trying to seek out all the things you need on your own – that is going to be incredibly time-consuming (we are talking YEARS) and very expensive. The other route is to learn it all systematically and from other people who are already doing the things you want or learn how to do. Courses, coaching, mentoring are all available – either as standalone services or as part of a membership in some cases. Training and coaching is affordable, efficient and can help you produce much faster results.
Marketing and Selling for Your Business Online
The foundation for your business is going to start with your website/blog. You need one and you need to know how it works and how it is built – whether you build it yourself or pay someone else to do it for you.
You will need four things to get your site up and running;
- Buy your domain name
- Get your hosting service
- Build your WordPress site
- Create your content
There are lots of steps to all this – but they are not really that complicated at all once you understand the basic steps you need to take.
This applies to all businesses and is even more critical if you are planning to build an online business, as many people want to do. You may even need and want multiple websites in some cases. Particularly true if you plan on going into affiliate marketing. A separate site for each major niche will be beneficial – and you can even learn to interconnect and cross-promote them over time.
But don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You start with one and build it then go from there when you are ready and when it makes sense to do so.
There are also ways to use other platforms and various social media together to increase your reach and build your business more over time by reaching more and more people. Here are a few platforms you can use;
YouTube
Beyond that, there are ways to use articles and content on other platforms to build your authority and help you find and reach new people, some of whom will become your customers and clients. Others won’t. That is a reality for us all – not everyone is going to buy from you no matter what you do.
Sometimes they don’t want or need what you are selling. Other times they want it – but can’t afford it. And others they want it and can afford it – but you will fail to do a good enough job to convince them to take you up on your offer, so they move on.
This is important to know. You will get a certain number of no’s for every yes you get – even when you are very effective in your efforts. Once you realize this simple fact – that it is and always will be a numbers game – you will become more confident and better in your efforts.
Another thing to know is that a NO today does not necessarily mean no forever. This is a mistake I see people making all the time. They go for the sale right off the bat at first contact and if the prospect doesn’t buy – they never bother to even contact them again, even when they may have their email, phone number, and other information along with their permission to follow up. What a waste!
I have recruited THOUSANDS of people over the years and made countless sales to many other people who at first meeting told me NO. How did I do that and how do I still do that?
Follow up and build a relationship over time – and always be nice and courteous to everyone – even if they seem to have no interest in your services or products. How you do this is going to depend on the specific people and potential products or services involved. It may be in the content you put out, and it may be with an occasional email or phone call (when they have signed up and given you permission) or by mail even (and yes that still works when done right!). Always seek first to serve and to add value in what you do.
For best results, you will use a strategy that relies on a combination and sequence of multiple methods over time.
Building Your Own Business Empire
What I mean by saying “build your own business empire” is that you can take the lessons you learn and compound them by using the information, training, skills, profits and other resources as you acquire them to reinvest and grow your current business. Then as it becomes more successful you can take all those things and start another business – replicating what you have learned and using all your other resources to replicate your previous success again in your new business.
Then do it again.
Let’s say you start with affiliate marketing – just as an example, and because it is one of the very lowest cost businesses you can start yet offers huge potential if you can do it correctly and effectively. As you learn how to build your sites, how to write and produce content and produce results you begin to generate revenue and make profits.
You also are acquiring invaluable skills and experience that will help you in any and all subsequent businesses you may decide to pursue.
After awhile you achieve a level of success, so you write an eBook chronicling your journey and what you learned. That is another business – you are now an author. There are related books, eBooks, audiobooks and other things you can write, publish and sell.
From that, you make more money and gain new customers, more clients, and more people will know you, like you and trust you. They all have friends by the way.
From there maybe you decide to do some free webinars – and mention your paid course at the end.
Along the way, you design and develop your own print on demand merch – cups, mugs, hats, shirts, art, etc. You will produce sales and you will also develop new areas of expertise that you can then write about and teach in multiple different ways. Images from it all can be used to market your products and services.
You can start and run your own YouTube channel, podcast, live events (seminars/workshops, etc) if you choose to do so.
Once you generate enough money and enough of it is profit – you can use some of it to continue your next business venture. Even into branching out into brick and mortar businesses too – if you like. Of course, you do not have to, there are plenty of online options. But you could…
That is what I mean by Build Your Own Business Empire.
Want my help? You can get it in a variety of ways. Some free – such as this post and my other posts and articles on my sites and other platforms. Also through my courses, books and groups. Or you can come join my personal mastermind network by clicking HERE
Regardless of what you decide – do decide on something and take action. Then go build your own business empire step by step by step!