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I started a consulting business in a country where I knew nobody when I moved in, and that is severely hit by the economic crisis. It proves to be a big challenge to find clients. My question is: what can I do to sell my services?
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Think of your consulting business like any other product where you need to move your customer from Awareness to Action/Loyalty along the marketing funnel (note: google “marketing funnel” if you don’t know what I’m referring to). What are you doing so that your target customers know you even exist? And once they know you exist, what are you doing to get them to hire you? What works depends a lot on what your services are and who your target audience is. Sometimes networking and asking for referrals works. Sometimes it’s cold calling and/or traditional advertising. Sometimes you need to offer a little value for free (call it sampling) to show that you are worth the investment of time and money. Try a bunch of different approaches and see what is the best investment of your time and energy at each stage of the funnel.
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how to market my event management company with low or no marketing budget?
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First, know how your target customers make their decisions about which event management company to hire. What do they look for? Who or what influences them? If you don’t know, do some research (e.g., ask them). Whatever it is that drives their buying decision, work that angle. Is a referral / word-of-mouth game? If so, ask for referrals and do work (maybe for free or at discount?) that will generate referrals.
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I am in the process of starting my own brand of clothing, and setting up my online store. I also manufacture t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, etc. in bulk for anyone who needs it it bulk, as per their requirements! How can i get more leads for my bulk sales business? How can i grow? Also, how can i grow my customer base for my brand, in the future?
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Start with your customer and work backwards. Who are they and how do they buy today? How do they become aware of possible vendors? How do they make their decision about who to buy from? Do some research if you have to. Consider the buyer, the end user, and any key influencers. Then come up with some strategies to become part of that decision making process. If your target customers start with Google when looking for bulk clothing, maybe look at optimizing your website for search and consider buying AdWords (sponsored links). If your target customers are student associations at universities, think about the most efficient ways to get your message and offer to those people (resellers? campus booths? email? direct sales?).
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How can we test pricing?
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Not overly scientific – try different price points and see what works. Just don’t do surveys or focus groups – people can’t tell you what they’re willingness to pay is until they actually have to pay.
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I am a partner in a software startup building tools for elections. Our technical lead has already tried to quit twice because he wasn't happy with how someone talked to him, then wasn't happy with the deal (which is the same deal as for all the partners). We know that we have to put a plan "B" in place in case he quits again. How do we do that without having him feel threatened?
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Hmmmm. Tough one to answer without knowing the details. At the end of the day, you have to have partners you trust and who trust you. If he’s not the guy, find the guy who is sooner rather than later.
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I am currently advising a group of young men to come together and start a technology-based business venture. There seems to be a roadblock each time I give them direction to implement, primarily one of the lead programmers/members who is gifted but very laid-back. How do I (a) get them working on something diligently and (b) help them start something with potential to generate SOME revenue quickly, whilst keeping costs down.
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As an advisor, you can only do so much. If the founders aren’t working diligently or listening to good advice, then they are bound to fail anyway. It’s for this reason VCs and angels always talk about investing more in the people than the business itself. That being said, I find it’s often not the best strategy to simply tell someone what to do. Instead, I first help them identify short and medium-term objectives and then work with them create a plan to get there.
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