Recently I had coffee with a new business owner. He is a brilliant architect and entrepreneur. He always wanted to start his own architectural practice.
He had already gone through the process of starting a business. From writing a business plan, getting a small business loan, remodelling an office, getting his logo designed, and everything else ready.
I could tell that the business was slow because he was somewhat desperate in his approach to try to get new clients. He opened up and said, “Look, I’m not going to make it. I’m pretty well out of money. And I’ve got no way to get clients into the door.”
I talked to him about the situation and gave him some possible ideas to get more clients. He then said something that hit me like a ton of bricks.
He said he had spent four years to get his degree and an additional four years in commercial practice. Nobody ever talked to him about how to get clients to come to his practice, not until now.
You lock an entrepreneur up for seven to eight years to teach them a skill, but don’t spend 10 minutes showing them how to market that skill. That is unbelievable! It is the biggest problem with our education system that plagues new entrepreneurs in just about any market.
They believe that if they can build a great product, create a fantastic company, or offer excellent service, the customers will automatically follow.
I see entrepreneurs all the time who will invest every last penny to create a product or service that they think will change the world. They never really consider who their dream customers are. More importantly, how they’re going to reach them and get their service, practice or product actually in front of these people. These new business owners or even old business owners are happy to invest in product creation, design education, going to conferences, almost everything.
But when you tell them that maybe they have to buy some Facebook ads or some Google ads, they freeze!
When you tell them they will have to put in their own time and sweat to get visitors organically, they often think, Hmm, especially professionals. “I’m above that”.
Some think their product or service is just so good. They don’t need to generate traffic and pay for it.
Others believe they’re entitled to customers because they’ve built such a better product or offer such a better service than their competitors.
So they wait and wait and wait…..
Then think I have built it. Why aren’t customers coming yet?
The biggest problem in a new business is getting future customers to discover that they even exist. Let’s be honest. Every year, tens of thousands of businesses start and fail because the entrepreneurs don’t understand the one essential skill, the art and science of getting people to find you. That’s a tragedy.
And that’s why I beaver away meticulously at this podcast, this marketing 24 7 podcasts, because I want to help entrepreneurs get their messages out to the world about their products and services.
I firmly believe entrepreneurs are the only people on earth who can change the world. It’s not going to happen because of the government or schools.
It happens because of hand-to-hand combat hardened entrepreneurs, who have their nose to the grindstone. And it’ll happen because of entrepreneurs like you, who are willing to risk everything to try and make your dream become a reality.
Waiting for people to come to you is not a strategy.
Understanding the keys triggers that will get your dream customer to find you is.
Finding ways to get them into your world where you can make them an offer, tell your backstory and show your passion. That is the big secret!
The stuff I cover in this podcast aims to do that for you.
You’re probably well aware I work with and have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs. I work day-to-day with a coterie of highly successful entrepreneurs.
One of the things I’ve been doing over the years is looking for the commonalities between those entrepreneurs. What are their triggers, hotspots, go-to strategies that regularly work across the various industries?
And I’ve been putting all those together. I’ve recently released a product called Fast Money for Entrepreneurs, and it’s about the seven marketing triggers that I have found that are the most commonplace out there.
I urge you to go to my website, PeterGianoli.com/fast-money to find out more.
