If you are running a startup business, then it is likely that you don’t have a lot of money or a lot of time to waste on unnecessary marketing and sales efforts. It’s like being deep in the jungle when you are tired, hungry and only have 1 arrow left. You must select your target very, very carefully before you take your only shot.

I still have a house phone that hangs on the wall (remember those?). No one ever calls on it except for Grandpa (on occasion) and telephone salespeople. I have never purchased anything from a phone salesman, nor consented to any free offer or survey, and yet they still keep calling in the hopes that I may change my personality someday. Most often they are trying to sell things that I never, ever would want to buy anyways. In marketing, this is the opposite of the hungry jungle hunter with only one arrow. These phone salespeople will shoot at anything that moves (or answers the phone).

A key to marketing success
A key to rapid success for any business (whether startup or established) is to carefully choose a highly targeted, well defined, easily located, narrow niche market and to focus all marketing and sales efforts there. This can be the difference between survival and failure, and yet you would be surprised how many entrepreneurs fail to do so. Too many entrepreneurs are opportunistic, not strategic and it costs them dearly. The smaller your market, the better you will understand the needs and challenges of your customers. The better you understand your customers, the easier it is to develop features and benefits that address their specific needs. This will make the sales process faster, painless, easier and a lot more fun. Selling to highly qualified customers is easy because you have selected them based on their needs and you know how to talk with them in a manner that resonates with them.

Only Qualified Leads
I sell a coaching & mentoring program to entrepreneurs who want to learn to master the art of entrepreneurship and to become successful lifelong serial entrepreneurs. While I meet hundreds of entrepreneurs each year, only a few are truly interested in this type of learning and self-development. I would be foolish to waste a lot of my time & efforts in trying to pitch my program to entrepreneurs who are not interested.  Therefore I have designed a number of tools that allow the interested ones to come forward and identify themselves. This blog is one of those tools.

A free offer
If you talk to my clients you will hear that this program really works well. If you are not sure, then join me on a free interactive webinar on April 28^th at 16:00 CET. During this online meeting I will show you some of the common mistakes and some of the easy ways that you can increase your number of qualified leads. Follow even one of these tips and you will have more clients that come to you and ask for your services. After the webinar, if you tell me that you are really interested in learning more, then we will talk. But only after you have identified yourself and your interest. If I only have one arrow, then I want to take careful aim before I waste your time and mine.

Join us on this next webinar (April 27^th) and you will discover:

• How to define a razor-sharp target market plan that will accelerate your business
• My top 5 recommendations for re-defining your business to make better use of limited time and resources
• How to use Guerrilla Marketing tactics to differentiate you from your competitors
• The 5 most common marketing mistakes that entrepreneurs make
• How to become less reliant on leading-edge technology and to build long-term value for your business
• PLUS, a fatal mindset challenge that could be sabotaging your marketing efforts without you really realizing it!

Sign-up for the free series of webinars. Here are some of the topics we will discuss in future webinars.

• APRIL 28, 2011 – Targeted marketing and niche strategies
• MAY 26 – Secrets to raising capital for early-stage entrepreneurs
• JUNE 30 – Sales acceleration tools and best practices
• JULY 28 – Power networking skills that will let you connect with anyone fast
• AUGUST 25 – Building lists of potential customers, your biggest asset
• SEPTEMBER 29 – Closing sales faster and overcoming objections easily
• OCTOBER 27 – Establishing rapport with investors and customers quickly
• NOVEMBER 24 – Becoming a recognized thought leader in your industry
• DECEMBER 29 – Guerrilla Marketing tricks and techniques
• JANUARY 26, 2012 – Powerful Communication skills
• FEBRUARY 23 – Story telling examples and methods
• MARCH 29 – Pitching to investors in a way that will get results

THERE WILL BE A NEW WEBINAR ON THE LAST THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Image: Thinkers Of The Jungle, by Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits and Jay Ullal, published by Ullmann Publishing,