As an Entrepreneur you wear many hats. They include Accountant, Sales Manager, Marketing Officer, Research and Human Resources. None are as important as Sales and Marketing. Right now, you are rereading this and mentally disputing this statement; you should, and you will begin to realize that entrepreneurship is 70%-80% sales.
Therefore, as an Entrepreneur, you should invest time, effort and money into improving your selling efforts and crafting your sales strategies. Additionally, you may yet again dispute this and counter by indicating you cannot sell without an ‘earth moving, terrific, awesome’ product that everyone likes. The truth is a shrewd entrepreneur spots the opportunity in connecting a good enough product with customers that are interested and willing to buy. Thereafter, he/she uses the revenue generated to improve on the products and services offered and in so doing realizes growth.
I cannot further re-iterate the importance of crafting a sales and marketing strategy and what it can do for your business. This is especially the case when the bank or an investor requests your revenue model or business plan. Trust me when I say, take the time to craft your sales and marketing strategy and you will be able to easily identify opportunities for increasing cash flow and growth
So true…. entrepreneurship is not only a financial investment but it is extremely time consuming. Marketing, (no matter the avenuel) certainly requires the Time Investment to make the project worthwhile.
Absolutely! You are going to be tested in ways that you never knew you had the skill set or the grit to see through. As an entrepreneur you will become to appreciate and understand the importance of developing your brand and its importance in generating sales. As the business grows you will also need to delegate, outsource or hire the best expertise for these areas.