Self-made Americans

Self-made Americans are inspirational because unlike most things in life where “you have to know someone,” those that do and create things on their own merits are inspiring. Of course, doing so is also extremely difficult and draining, but if successful, can be very rewarding.

I can relate to some of this from my experiences with my own business. I run a small start-up firm with limited funding. Of course, if I were to hire a huge marketing team and sales force to help grow the business, I could sit back and enjoy my work more, focus solely on client work and watch my business grow and prosper. Sadly, I do not have the financial means to do so at this time. That being said, the success I have experienced in business has required good old-fashioned grunt work, and lots of it.

Running and building a business can be very time-consuming and emotionally draining. I spend countless hours online researching prospective clients or people to network with, and when I reach out, often I am met with cold shoulders or silence. Having someone else to handle targeting, networking prospects, cold calling, meetings, follow-up calls and meetings, presentation and proposal writing would certainly take some of the burden off, yet not everyone running a small business has the luxury to do so. In the case of my business, myself and my staff are forced to rely on our own merits and our own resources.

Does one have more benefit than the other? Well, yes and no. Of course having a good “sales person” to sell your business’ services can be a golden ticket for a firm. I’ve encountered several of them myself and can say there truly are some good salespeople out there. They can sell ice to an Eskimo. These folks have the skill and time to dedicate to researching who the best prospects are, meeting with them, and selling. They do the research and all of the legwork to land new clients and gigs. Once that is done, they can then fill you in on the new client’s business and leave you alone to handle servicing the client while they move on to the next prospect.

Is there a downside to this method? Certainly. A salesperson may sell your soul to the prospective client, promising everything under the sun in an effort to land you the gig. However, a salesperson may not really understand the work involved in the process or the time it takes to accomplish such tasks. Do they understand the fundamentals of the work?  Maybe; maybe not. The salesperson may be working off of commission and as such, their main interest is getting you new business.

From a “do it yourself” approach and being the person actually doing the work for the client, you are in a better position to say, “I understand this is the service you are looking for, but might I suggest this approach?” Oftentimes a prospect will not understand the best method of marketing themselves. After all, that is why they are looking for help. They sometimes think that one method is the way to go when perhaps another might be more beneficial to them. They may also be unaware of other ways of doing things or new technologies or different services that may be better suited for them.

Also, your reputation is on the line. If the salesperson promises a boat load of services, but perhaps not the “best” services that you might have recommended, that may be good for your pockets, however, the client might eventually realize that they are wasting a lot of unnecessary money and end the contract. In my case, we’ve had clients throughout 16 years and many have followed us through three different firms strictly because of the quality service we offer and at the lowest pricing available. I’d rather charge a client the lowest rates we can, and provide the best service to assist them and have them stay with us for years then to charge more for less and have them walk away unsatisfied. Your reputation goes a long way in the industry.

I see many firms doing both: hiring salespeople and/or managers and those doing things on their own. In terms of succeeding on their own, it can be done, but it does require a lot of time, energy and a lot of patience.

In any industry, whether it is modeling, acting, musicians, writing or even IR/PR folks, such as myself, if you are going to attempt this on your own, always keep in mind that your reputation will always follow you. It’s important to do your homework and your research. It’s also important to do the best quality work that you can possibly do and, in some cases, keep your prices within reason. Perform a SWOT Analysis — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

You also need to network and engage with people constantly. Utilize every resource available to you.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+ — whatever. Network, network and network some more.  You never know when a new or old connection can come in handy with a referral in the future.

Also, be unique. Stand out above the others. Rub elbows with key influences (even if just on social media). Be engaging, comment on topics in your industry to position yourself as a leader. You’re selling yourself and your personality, so be different. Be liked, or be hated, but be the best you can be at either.

Once you’ve gotten some attention, make sure you are communicating a message that the listener will find interesting and will be looking for or else they will shut you out and stop listening and you will have lost the opportunity to engage. In the end, you will get the deal through research, effective written and verbal correspondence and your professional knowledge. It just starts with marketing the best product that you have … you.

By Patricia Baronowski-Schneider, president & CEO of Pristine Advisers
Photo by Bike Rider London | Shutterstock