When you're ramping your business, there's almost nowhere you wouldn't look for revenue. Even if you're very successful, you always have limited resources that need to be judiciously deployed. That means sales and marketing require careful planning.
"Going the extra mile" for a customer, often, is what defines the culture in many small businesses. But like in any relationship, the "love" has to go both ways...as does the respect and the responsibilities for the relationship to succeed and grow.
Launching a start-up is no small task.But how do you really get your young company ready for sustained growth, that is growth that is both dramatic and consistent over a significant period of time, and how do you maximize the potential for that growth?
You have no business without customers and you have no customers without sales. As important as sales are to the ultimate success of any entrepreneurial endeavor, there is no area of business that is more misunderstood and more rife with myths than sales.
The culture an entrepreneur creates can be the single biggest factor in not only driving success, but attracting the employees and customers it needs to sustain that success. It reflects the environment and the management style the founder creates.
Customer service is more than a good voice answering the phone; more than a couple accolades from some satisfied customers. It has to be part of the culture of the company. But for many entrepreneurs, it's mostly "all talk, no walk."
Starting and operating a small business is replete with challenges, but nowhere are the challenges greater than for an entrepreneur to know how to manage their company's precious financial resources.
Quality transcends company size and documented procedures. And, it starts the day you open your doors. It means everything is done with pride, at the highest level of your capabilities with the highest level of service possible. It is a state of mind.
Most entrepreneurs watch every penny, especially early on. But there's difference between being fiscally conservative and just plain old "cheap!" Knowing what you're "really" paying and "really" getting in return with employees and suppliers is critical.
Most companies develop products that they either "think" their customers need or they let their ego believe that they "know" what their customers want Few entrepreneurs involve their customers in the product development process and it hurts them later.
