1) Join or create a business networking group. When we launched the small business consulting arm of our business, we created a Women in Business Networking Group. We knew that the most reliable way to get a steady stream of client referrals was to be a part of a reciprocal referral sharing network.  We invited 40 other women entrepreneurs who were running their own businesses to join the group and attend bi-monthly meetings. As the women business owners built relationships with one another at the meetings, they began referring each other business.

2) Build relationships with other businesses that share your target market.  If you join in a promotion together, or co-promote a PR event, both businesses double their outreach to potential customers.  Here are three examples of excellent co-promotions with businesses that share the same market that we have seen just in the past month:

A) A laser skin care business and a hair extensions business held an “Evening of Beauty” together.

B) A garden craft artist held a free workshop at a garden center for gardening customers. The event pulled in more customers to the garden center, and the artist sold five times more of her art than if she held the workshop on her own.

C) A nutritionist created a “Baking Yummy Healthy Snacks” workshop and held it at  Yoga studio – which resulted in more business for both entrepreneurs.

3) Re-establish connections with past relationships – especially institutional relationships.  Join Linkedin alumni groups not only for the schools you attended, but the companies you worked for as well. Offer a special discount for alumni.  Even if an individual does not know you, alumni tend to already feel a connection because you both shared a similar educational or working experience. Take advantage of that connection, and build upon it.

Every connection you make can lead to a new client or customer. So, think mindfully and creatively about ways to build new relationships.

Here are some tips for getting the word out about your new vision:

Share it with everyone.  This may see obvious, but for some people, it’s very difficult.  Some new business owners we work with tell us that  it feels “braggy” or self-absorbed to be talking about their new idea, business, or direction.  But, you need to let people know that you have started a new venture, because people will want to help you achieve your vision.

Here is are two examples of different phrases you can say that will engage people in your vision without overdoing the self-promotion.  In response to the question, “So, what have you been up to?” , you can say,

“I am so busy!  I have launched a new business that  provides elder-care services for aging seniors so they can stay in their homes.  It has been so fulfilling to use my nursing skills in a new way.”

or

“I just turned my love of collecting nature-based homegoods into a new business called, “Simple Pleasures”.  I have been having such a blast exploring potential retail space, getting my marketing materials together, and finally launching my dream of owning store.”

Just switch the specifics to your own, and you have a great way to share your vision.

Tell Your Story.  Everyone loves a personal story. Be prepared to talk about the inspiration for your new business and what you imagine it will look like when it becomes a reality.  If your vision grew out of a personal struggle, share that.  It shows that you are resilient and can push through when the going gets tough.

Ask People Directly to Help You.  Share your vision by letting people know specifically how they can help you.  If you are ready for customers, let people know what kind of referrals you are looking for.  When you share your vision with friends, ask them to “like” your Facebook business page.  Be specific about what you need, and you will be surprised at the results.

A clear compelling vision moves your business forward and you need to communicate it to everyone you know.

Instead, try looking at your business in a new way. We ask our clients “what is your unique value to others?”  This is more than just defining what makes your business unique.  Your business can be incredibly unique but that uniqueness may have little value to the customer.  The real question is, “what makes your business unique AND how does that unique quality create value, or provide a benefit for others?” This can do more for growing your business than any other strategy we know.

When companies spend time being truly thoughtful as they ask themselves, “what is our unique value”, they often gain insight into how they can market their business in an entirely new way, using skills and products that they already have.

On Martha’s Vineyard there is a bead store owned by a lovely woman who employs eight other women.  Her store is packed with gorgeous beads, findings, and hand-made jewelry.  When I spoke with her this  summer, I asked how all her customers found her – she is in an out-of-the way location, off an obscure side street. She told me that her store really became a “destination” when she removed some of her bead displays and added tables with tools for people to make their own jewelry with the help of her staff.  Customers used to line up around her cash register asking for help, and since she was formerly a teacher, she could not resist teaching.  The store transformed from just another shop – to a shop AND a vacation experience. 

She began to  market her bead shop as a unique vacation experience, increased her fees, and added more staff.  The result?  On rainy days, on sweltering hot days, even just beautiful vineyard days, her store ALWAYS has customers in it when other stores frequently might not.

What do you think is the unique value of your business?

An elevator pitch is a clear, concise, understandable statement about your self or your business.  Depending on the situation, it might be a one or two sentence statement, such as

“I am an attorney and mediator and I specialize in employment related matters.  I recently joined with a partner, and we now handle divorce as well.”

If you have more time at a business lunch, you might provide additional information. For example

“I own a bakery/dessert shop that specialized in cupcakes.  We recently started offering children’s birthday parties where kids can make and decorate their own cupcakes with over 20 different toppings.  We are very busy with the parties and are looking to expand into offering at-home cupcake parties.  In addition, we are looking to open a new location in the city.” 

In either case, you first have to decide what you want to tell people. Whether it is looking for a new job, expanding your brand, launching a new venture, or promoting your current business – you need to be clear on what you want to accomplish.  Take into account who you are talking to and tweak your pitch.  You might tell an entrepreneur how you helped someone grow their business, but you might tell an acquaintance who you run into at the bookstore about a new workshop you are running.  Who is your audience, and what is most important for them to know?

In addition, you should use words that laypeople can understand.  If you tell people at a cocktail party that you are a scientist developing  high temperature superconductors for fault current limiters, most people do not understand what that means, and therefore cannot refer you business or contacts. However, they will understand that you are a scientist developing a market for new energy technologies, and will ask for more details if they are interested.

Finally, your elevator pitch should let people know what they can do for you (send new clients your way, provide contacts in a particular field, suggest venues for you to market your particular product, etc).  For example,

I own a skin care company and help people with all their skin care issues, acne, age spots, Botox – please send all your teenagers with acne my way!”

An elevator pitch is an essential marketing tool because you never know who you are going to meet, what that person’s interests are, and who they can connect you with.  Be prepared!!

Seven years ago, we created DKS Consulting Group to provide career coaching and small business consulting to individuals in transition. Although we each had 20 plus years experience in our respective fields of psychology, management consulting and law, we had much to learn about promoting and marketing a small business. Here are three things we learned about moving a small business forward:

1. Is it vitamins or aspirin? Ask yourself, is the product or service I am providing something people want, like vitamins, or something people really need, like aspirin? (When you have a headache, you really need an aspirin). This question is really important. When the economy is flush, people spend a lot of money on things they want. But, when times are tough, people tend to pull back and spend mainly on things they need. The bottom line is that during a recession, it is easier to sell a product or service that people really need. You can still create a business based on something people want – just understand that you will have to invest extra time, energy, and money to market it.

2. You may have a great idea, but does anyone know about it? You may have a brilliant concept, a unique service, or a gorgeous product, but if no one knows about it, they are not going to buy it. There are many great ways to market your business that don’t cost a lot of money. A simple but professional looking website is the place to start. Creating a facebook group, writing a blog, and sending email newsletters and promotions are easy and effective ways to get the word out.

3. Is it What you know, or Who you know? Answer: What you know is important, but it’s Who you know that will catapult your business from great idea to profitable enterprise. And, we believe that it’s important to network with anyone who will meet with you. Over time, we have learned that people who you least expect to be helpful for your business, turn out to be just the ones who help you move it forward. Ask the mom who volunteers with you in the classroom to have coffee and learn that she has a friend who owns a store and is dying to have your product. Networking is essential to getting your product or service promoted.

Network with us on our blog and share the lessons you have learned about promoting your business!

Recognize that you can only control yourself. When conflict arises there are always at least two people involved, and it is very easy to blame the other person. However, blaming others, keeps you stuck in a “conflict whirlpool” because you are focused on changing the other person’s behavior. If you recognize from the outset that the only person you can control is yourself, you shift your mindset to moving forward and resolving conflict. You can ask yourself, how can I interact, respond, communicate differently with this coworker so that I don’t feel so frustrated or angry? Is there a different conversation I can have with my co-worker to explain my position? Is there someone within my team or organization who can facilitate a conversation to help resolve this conflict?

Focus on the facts and find common ground. Do not assume everyone is starting from the same page. Clearly stating your view of the facts creates a common ground for understanding. For example, if there is a conflict on a project you are working on, stating the facts, such as the project goals, milestones we have reached so far, the resources we need to complete the project, and the due date, begins the communication at a point of common understanding. And, if there is disagreement on the facts, you can work that out before the project is underway.

Ask for what you want. People are not mind readers. Communication often breaks down when we assume people know what we want or need. When you clearly, directly, and respectfully ask for what you want you increase the likelihood of getting it and defuse conflict before it begins.

Express empathy. Empathy is the ability to identify with another person’s point of view. Although you may disagree or have a different perspective, it is important to hear the other person’s point of view and let them know that you appreciate what they are saying. When you act in an empathetic way you are saying to the other person, “I understand what you are saying, and I understand why you are saying it”. Empathy opens the lines of communication, aligns the listener and the speaker with one another, and leads to productive conversations.

Better communication skills can be learned. Communication training with skilled consultants can stop interpersonal conflict before it mushrooms out of control and inhibits productivity. Let us know what communication strategies have worked in your business.

Co-promotion is simple- you promote someone else’s business and they, in turn, promote yours.

We have used co-promotion to foster mutually beneficial business relationships across the country. As small business owners, we understand the value of preserving capital and tapping into new markets. Co-promotion is a creative and inexpensive way to promote your business. It has worked for us, and it can work for you too- but you need to think “outside the box”.

Below are co-promotional initiatives that you can use to amp up your business. And, they are FREE.

1. Link Sharing with Like-minded Businesses: List your link on our website and list our link on yours. Link sharing can exponentially broaden your market exposure.
2. Newsletter Spotlight: Highlight each other’s businesses in company newsletters or email blasts. We have included a section in our newsletter called “empowering partners” where we promote a complimentary business that our clients might find helpful.
3. Coupons: Offer a coupon that adds value to another business. We offered a coupon for a free half-hour of coaching for all attendees at a business networking event.
4. Gift with Purchase: Offer a gift from your business inside another business product. We offered a free coaching download with the sale of a nationally distributed product.
5. Email Promotions: Trade email promotions by forwarding contact lists. This can instantly double the reach of your email promotions.
6. Give a Talk, Demonstration, or Display at an unrelated Business Location: Consider hanging your art or photography at a hair salon, giving a talk on organization at a health club, sponsoring a community or non-profit event in your community. The patrons of an unrelated business may be your target market!

You may have used some other co-promotion strategies. Let us know what has worked for you and your business. And, if you are interested in co-promoting with DKS Consulting Group,  we are always open to new ideas.

1. A shared “vision” for your business is critical and matters in very concrete ways. A vision is a clear, specific, focused articulation of exactly what success means to you. Productivity, time, and financial loss can be significant if a business vision is not clearly stated and agreed upon by all potential partners.

2. Define the resources and relative value of those that each partner brings to the business, such as money, office or retail space, equipment, time, energy, contacts etc. Also clearly define the proportion of profits to be distributed and/or invested back into the business. Think about what you want to put into the business and what you will take out.

3. Articulate clear roles and responsibilities for each partner. It is as important for each partner have a fair share of the grunt work and the engaging, stimulating work.

4. Establish an effective means of regular communication, such as in-person meetings, emails, prompt responses to emails, telephone calls.

5. Set up a process for making decisions. Does everything need to be agreed upon? If so, what is the process for making decisions? If not, which things can be decided without agreement?

6. Examine whether there is a balance of process and styles, including working styles. Is one partner thoughtful, impulsive, somewhere in between, creative, controlling, detail or big picture oriented, and can you work with that?

7. Create a written Partnership Agreement. Make sure it includes how new partners come into the business, and how existing partners can leave.
Deal directly with the “what ifs”. Partners do not need to be equal. Put it in writing!

8. Assume there will be conflict. You need to communicate with your partners. State the issue and solve the problem. Some people have a hard time confronting problems, but you need to talk about it if you want a healthy partnership. Sometimes, you may have to simply agree to disagree. That doesn’t mean your business will dissolve. You can find other solutions.

9. Bring in a neutral third party to help you resolve conflict if you want your partnership to endure.

10. Consult with your tax and legal advisor. Creating a partnership has both legal and tax implications.

Tell us about your partnership successes and your partnership disasters. We would love to hear your story!

If you are thinking about forming a partnership or business alliance, we will share with you necessary elements and pitfalls to avoid.

If conflict in your business is causing stress and disruption, we are experienced in conflict resolution and can help you turn conflict into productivity.

Are you looking to strengthen your leadership skills?

Learn strategies from our DKS Executive Development Coaching Model that can help you breakthrough to the next level in your career.

Perhaps you have been thinking about starting your own business, and you don’t know where to begin?

We will address challenges that small businesses face and share advice on getting started, staying motivated, and creating a support team.

Join the DKS conversation and learn how you can help your business, your team, and yourself – grow, thrive and succeed.