This week, we’re going to begin with Gary V’s video “How to Market a Small Business On a Limited Budget” because we know this is something many business owners struggle with. Gary was asked via Twitter for his marketing advice for small business owners with limited budgets. Gary said this is a questions he’s often asked and it’s also an issue he grappled with in the past. His advice was for business owners to close the financial gap by simply working harder and longer. He suggests spreading the message by knocking doors and getting out there and hustling.
Gary also said that content is a great ally to have and that in this day and age, it’s important to focus your energy on pushing out content. Even if you don’t have the money to hire content creators, editors, etc., you can still create content yourself by taking hours away from selling, staffing and all the other things you’re doing and dedicate a few hours a week into becoming more like a media company. He went on to say that every business needs to start acting like a media company as all companies need to create and share content.
In his article entitled “To Make the Sale, You Need to Go In for the Kill” Gary begins by saying that as a salesperson, there are lots of mistakes to avoid making. Going in for the sale too quickly, messing up the facts or not believing in your product are some of the mistakes you should avoid. But another problem that’s even more obvious and problematic is poor execution when it pertains to actually asking for the customer’s business. What Gary is talking about here is the actual transaction that happens between the salesperson and the customer. Gary says that the right approach to the salesperson/customer transaction is to go right in for the kill and not to tread around the issue. Be honest and upfront about what your goal is. In other words, ask the customer how you can get their business and then make that happen whatever it is.
