I was at a networking event a few months back and while having dinner, I happened to be seated next to a bright young man who was completing his MBA. We talked about many things, one of them being entrepreneurship. He was interested in this topic since he planned one day to launch his own business. Outside of school, he was very passionate about tennis. In fact, he had been giving private lessons for several years and he was now interested in turning his hobby into a full fledged business. So what was holding him back? Read more »
Tags: creativity, financing, problem solving, starting a small business
In the area of entrepreneurship, I often seek out advice from people with more experience than me. Naturally, I give their opinions a lot of weight since being a new entrepreneur, I can’t really counter their advice with experiences of my own. A dilemma arose when I found that I was receiving conflicting advice from my ‘circle of experts’.
The topic of controversy was sales strategies. I wanted to know the best ways to generate sales for a new business. The first expert told me to use the direct mail and cold calling methods. “Sales are a pretty much a numbers game”, I was told. “You make X number of calls from which you can expect to book X number of appointments, leading to the final result: X number of contracts. Typically the conversion rate is around 10%, which can vary depending on the industry, the quality of the leads, etc.” I was eager to apply this new knowledge but doubts began to surface when I spoke to the next expert. Read more »
Tags: business advice, entrepreneurship, sales strategies, starting business
