i just launch my store months ago congratulate me

Hey guys I’m new to this Skool community just posting to introduce myself 😁 Keen to create relationships and connect with everyone in the group💪🏼

I have noticed that there is a bit fo a disconnect when we address sales whether for an estalblished company or a start up, trying to work out the balance sheet. It is common for people to mistake marketing and sales but the truth is that most of the time, there is a very distinct difference between sales and marketing. Sales is a very standard practice and various sales strategies are the same whether you are again, dealing with a start up or an established company. Which is why you will find a Sales Department in established companies using the same sales technqiues as a start up. When Small Medium Enterprises are starting up, they often spend quite the figure of dollars on sales to ensure that they know what to do to keep the start up afloat. As a Business Development expert , I always advice clients that you need to spend money to make money if you need the Start up to gain momentum in terms of growth, but also gain visibility in the niche market space. For example, if you are a Yoga instructor, your training attire and your feet need to look the part. Happy housewives are looking to make sure your feet are not crusty... they just did not join up to have a smilar slim figure *which is why we need to allow Fitness instructors to maintain, their body is their walking business card. To a regular observer you may be wasting money investing on monthly pedicures but you are not : especially if the reverse warrior pose or tree pose is your most celebrated yoga pose. The same way for a start up, sales executives with a wealth of knowledge in sales need to be the first group of people you hire because, let us face it, you sought out to be an entrepreneur to solve a problem, make an impact and ofcourse, make money.

What is strategy ? Strategy is an intergrative set of actions that you say that, you are going to do in order to fullfill a goal or task. Ofcourse, startegy is most effective when you follow the SMART formula i.e do things that are : Specific. Measurable. Achieveble. Realsitic. Time Bound. A good strategy is the difference between actually implementing tasks effectively and fumbling through a Strategic Plan and it"s designated to do list. Strategy is also (but not often highlighted) about your network. As an individual, your network is your networth but how you unlock value in your network is where the implementation of tasks really takes shape. You can have a 500+ Linked In network but still not able to get to the attention of the decision maker at Coca Cola and your childhood friend of 30 years is the HR at Coca Cola. It is also important to note that, we are not adivicing people to only interract with others out of having an ulterior motive. The truth is that, you have friends who also just happen to strategically sit in advantegous positions and if you have maintained a decent relationship over the years, you should not be accused of having a hidden agenda for reaching out for assistance if you need some assignment completed. It is just plain strategy. This is the reason why in Kenya for instance, the Director of Marketing has his Country Club membership paid by his company and why the Relationship Manager at the Bank has been encouraged to start golfing. This is because, Multi National Blue Chip companies understand that strategic newtorking is a game changer to the extent they table the bill for you. Therefore, do not be shy, no one will label you Ms, Agenda just do your work and put in that phone call to your childhood friend of 30 years, who you have a standing brunch date with every first Saturday of the month. How you unlock value in your network is the most stratgegic chess move you can make in business. You can literrally get wealthy by meeting like minded individuals.

Marketing is all about brand visibility of an entity. In a nutshell, you are where your niche customer is and because they know of your services you are able to successfully turn a cold lead into a tangible sale that brings in money to your entity. How does one go about marketing a product and/or service ? 1) Identify your niche customer. A while back, I did a post about a company"s brand DNA. I explained that once you know what you are offering be it a service and/or product you can then subsequently focus on who you are selling to...in this regards, it is important to both identify and curve out your niche customer. The reason this is important, is because now that you know who your niche customer is , you can now sell to them. 2) Analyse your competition. So, after doing a brand DNA analysis and locating your niche customer before you start marketing your service or product you need to know who your competition is. Your marketing campaign needs to wow your niche customer and be more convincing than your competition. Consquently, as you prepare your marketing campaign one needs to know who the competition is and how to be better than your competition in terms of brand visibilty and preference of your product and/or service over your competition. 3) Set SMART measurable goals. Now that you have your niche customer figured out and you know your competition, you can begin to market with the intention of having an outline of a smart and measureable marketing campaign that will allow you to increase both sales and curve out a unique brand visibility outcome. Some marketing strategies that you may want to utilize while marketing are these 3, as examples ; (There is alot more marketing strategies. ) 1) SEO. Search engine optimization is whole module at Max Business School. Basically it is as it states, it prioritises leads to your start-up when you search for your start-up by name or service using an online search engine. AI apps that teach you how to build a website in seconds are not a bad idea but what makes MBS unique and gives it an edge above these AI apps is that, this masters course teaches you how to use SEO to your advantage after you have set up your website. And because marketing is all about brand visibilty, SEO is perfect for driving online traffic to your start-up.