This subject has been discussed and needs to be dealt with before it's too late.
These Covid-19 lockdowns are about to cause many white collar small business owners (attorneys, CPAs, dentists, plastic surgeons, insurance brokers and real estate brokers) to be ghosts in their industries.
Owning a business where one party is soliciting money from another party is not normal behavior for 9 out of 10 people in America. Across all business type entities, the Small Business Administration says 10% of Americans own small businesses. If you look at the percentage of traditional business owners to the American population, I believe the number of non business owners to the adult population is probably 24 out of 25. Translated, I am using a 4% business ownership percentage.
First, we will discuss the challenges. Lastly, we offer the solutions. But I hasten to say that many white-collar small business owners will not survive these manufactured lockdowns.
The Three Challenges
The first challenge to succeed in business is our past beliefs. As children, we were told never to talk to strangers because people we do not know are out to hurt us. Unknown people are boogeymen. When we became adults, it was a generally accepted rule, and cemented in our minds at church, to never talk about money because "money is at the root of all evil". Lastly, never discuss politics and religion.
The second challenge is many Americans start businesses with little to no formal education and training. Did you know that only 1 out of 111 college students enroll in Economics classes? The study of Economics is essential in making critical business decisions. The majority of people start a business because they like the industry. Regarding selling a product or service, formal training could be as much as $30,000 per person. Then, moving through the sales learning curve requires 1,000 to 1,600 hours (6 to 9 months) of full-time selling. Most white-collar small business owners do not have 1,000 to 1,600 hours to focus only on full-time selling.
The last challenge is not using a formal sales system. The majority of small business owners use the trial and error (T/E) method. The T/E method is very expensive because white-collar business owners can waste thousands of dollars per year on improbable sales solutions. Did you know that executing just four unproven T/E marketing plans at the same time translates into 24 (4! or four factorial in mathematics) different marketing methods?
The Solutions
The Dream. The intangible solution is you must have a dream about being successful at your business. Often, the drive for success will overcome other poor planning or bad business decisions. People with 'rags to riches' stories also mention that their dreams were bigger than the obstacles.
Belief in your product or service. Most white-collar small business owners believe in their products or services.
Believe your clients or customers will be better off with your product or service than without your product or service. This solution to improve your business is a powerful concept to digest because it has an ethics component. The question is this: is this product or service being sold just to make money? Or, will this product or service actually put the client or customer in a better position than he or she was before purchasing the product or service?
Deliver great sales experiences to your newest client to get no-cost referrals. This is a very easy way (though rarely implemented) to get new business without costing the business a dime!
Have confidence in your sales system and marketing plan. This is the ultimate solution to work in connection with the three solutions above. Every action to grow the business must have a predictable outcome. By using a good sales system, the white-collar small business will more likely make decisions with favorable results. And, a good sales system delivers no-cost referrals.
321 Biz Dev LLC provides affordable sales system training and business development services to white-collar small business owners.
If your company seeks predictable, good ROI sales growth, please contact us or complete a Questionnaire by clicking on the SERVICES tab on our website. We will schedule a no-obligation 30-minute consultation to learn more about your current situation and your business goals.
Thanks for reading this article.
Rick, CEO
786-697-3401