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Tag: Learning From Mistakes

  • These Are the 3 Most Common Mistakes I See First-Time Founders Make as an Investor | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Over the years, I’ve worked with and invested in many early-stage companies.

    I’ve seen promising startups gain traction and scale beyond expectations. Sadly, I know too many founders fall into the same predictable traps. They make simple mistakes that stall growth or even derail their businesses entirely.

    It’s not incompetence or a lack of determination. Passion, drive and ambition are vital qualities for entrepreneurs. However, they can lead founders down a dangerous path if they go unchecked.

    If you’re building a business right now, especially your first one, I want to highlight three of the most common mistakes I see founders make and offer some tips on how to avoid them.

    Related: 7 Fatal Mistakes Founders Make Just When Business Is Getting Good

    1. You assume you have product-market fit (when you don’t)

    One of the earliest and most dangerous mistakes founders make is acting as though they’ve achieved product-market fit before they have.

    They believe their idea is solid and move full steam ahead, spending money on development, marketing and hiring without validating their product with real customers.

    Why does this happen? Simple: It’s easy to fall in love with your own idea. You think you’re building something the world needs, and it feels obvious to you. But that’s a dangerous place to operate from.

    You don’t have product-market fit until your product is in someone else’s hands who isn’t your friend, spouse or former coworker. You have a hypothesis.

    Case study: Pivoting based on real users

    I remember a founder in our network who started a cosmetics company. When he launched the company, he thought the core audience would be women in their mid-20s, so they targeted, built for and marketed to that group. But when the sales data started coming in, it told a different story.

    It turned out that middle-aged and older women were the most loyal customers. They bought the product, loved it and were practically evangelists for it. To the founder’s credit, he listened to the market and pivoted, taking them from a generic play to a very focused, profitable one.

    Build, test, then expand

    In enterprise software, the same principle applies. Founders often build feature-packed platforms in isolation, only to learn that their users care only about a handful of the hundreds of features. The rest are simply wasted time, effort and capital.

    The lesson: Get a working version of your product into the hands of real users as soon as you can. Pilot programs. Beta testers. Whatever it takes. Listen to what users value and build around real-life data, not your assumptions.

    Related: The Top 2 Mistakes Founders Make That Hinder the Growth of Their Companies

    2. Believing you can do everything yourself

    Most founders are the Type-A, alpha dogs who believe they should be able to do it all.

    I understand that instinct. In the earliest days, you kind of have to. You’re bootstrapped, scrappy, taking on every role in the company. But what starts as a necessity can quickly become a bottleneck.

    The issue isn’t just capacity; it’s control. Founders who resist delegation often believe they’re the best person for every task. They think they know better than the marketing lead they hired. They’re the ones who can close the deal faster than the sales team. They can tweak the product more effectively than the engineers.

    It becomes a mindset that stifles growth.

    You accomplish more when you do less

    I’ve seen it many times: A founder builds a product, launches it, starts gaining traction and then it stalls out.

    It’s not a market shift, but because they’re still trying to be the player, the coach and the general manager all at once. Eventually, every founder has to evolve.

    Think of it in sports terms. You start as the player on the field. Then, you become the coach, setting the strategy. Over time, you become the GM, building a team that can execute and win without you in every play.

    The hard truth about delegation

    Letting go is hard. It’s your company. It’s your name on the paperwork. But if you want to grow, you must accept the fact that you will have to trust your team. Your job is to empower people to perform, not micromanage them into mediocrity.

    And yes, delegation comes with a cost. There’s a learning curve. Productivity dips before it rises. But the upside of having people who can think, lead, and execute independently is massive. The sooner you realize this principle, the faster you’ll find success.

    3. Spending capital just because you have it

    Finally, one of the mistakes I see all the time is founders who spend money just for the sake of spending.

    Imagine you just raised a healthy investment round of $10 million. Suddenly, you feel pressure to act. You hire more people, launch new initiatives, and sign big contracts. Soon it’s all gone. Why?

    It’s easy to confuse movement with progress.

    I’m not opposed to rapid spending. If a founder tells me they spent $5 million in six months and can show precisely how that spend drove measurable results, I’m thrilled. I’ll give them another $5 million and let them keep rolling. But I don’t want to see a company hire an entire marketing department before defining its go-to-market strategy, invest in a new product line without validating the demand or sign big vendor contracts to “look like a real company.”

    Spend strategically, not reactively

    You don’t need a T-shirt team just because you think that’s what startups do. Every dollar should align with your core strategy. If it doesn’t, it’s wasted.

    From an investor’s perspective, I don’t want you sitting on cash forever. But I also don’t want you burning it for headlines. Strategic spending beats reactive spending every time.

    Related: 8 Mistakes First-Time Founders Make When Starting a Business

    How to avoid these mistakes

    If you’re a founder navigating the early stages, here are a few quick tips on how to steer clear of these traps:

    • Validate, then scale: Get your product into users’ hands early. Listen and adjust. Don’t build in a vacuum.
    • Delegate with purpose: Start handing off responsibilities as soon as you can. Expect the dip. Embrace the long-term upside.
    • Spend with discipline: Know your strategy, tie every investment to it, and resist the pressure to “look busy.”

    At Dale Ventures, we look for founders who are self-aware enough to grow into the next version of themselves and disciplined enough to avoid these costly mistakes.

    The first-time founder who understands this isn’t just building a startup. They’re building a foundation for lasting success.

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    Hilt Tatum IV

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  • 6 Common Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face (and How to Overcome Them) | Entrepreneur

    6 Common Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face (and How to Overcome Them) | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Millions of new businesses are started by women every year, though they still hold the minority percentage compared to men. One report found only 39.9% of new businesses were created by women in 2022 compared to 60% created by men.

    Although the opportunities and expectations are starting to shift in favor of women, they still face challenges that affect their entrepreneurial goals. But with any hope, the future percentage will be more equitably distributed. Each entrepreneur faces their own hurdles. Here are a few common ones women experience most.

    Related: Women Entrepreneurs Face Unique Challenges. Here’s How to Thrive in the Face of Adversity.

    1. Surpassing social expectations

    Female entrepreneurs often face scrutiny regarding how they dress, speak, and interact with others. Especially in a professional setting, society has them toe the line between being too conservative and too casual and scaling back from appearing too aggressive versus the male-given adjective of assertive.

    However, being controlled by this see-saw way of thinking, for women to commandeer the spaces they’re in, it’s best to take the age-old advice to: be yourself. Listening with empathy and collaborating with others are often viewed as feminine traits, which can be combined with speaking up in meetings and leading presentations, which are automatically assumed by males.

    There doesn’t have to be an either/or approach to try to fit the idea of how women should feel they ought to dress and act. It comes down to personal comfort and confidence, both of which will outshine any stereotypes that are placed upon them.

    Related: These Are the Biggest Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face (and What to Do)

    2. Creating professional connections

    The “boys club” excludes women entrepreneurs from important conversations and opportunities. Moreover, some women may feel the need to raise their competitiveness against other women, feeling a sense of scarcity from a lack of options. The truth is that there is room for everyone to succeed. This mentality can help female leaders form meaningful connections and future partnerships to support their business growth.

    Though women should welcome all networking opportunities, there are female-oriented spaces geared toward the specific challenges women entrepreneurs face. These can create a safe place to share similar concerns and welcome new solutions from others facing the same situations.

    Related: 4 Ways Women Can Leverage Network and Build Better Connections

    3. Finding a work-life balance

    Work-life balance has been a hot topic of conversation, fueled by the changes brought on by the pandemic in 2020. Entrepreneurs across all industries have shifted their priorities to make more room for “life” activities and moments.

    However, for women, in particular, caregiving falls squarely on their shoulders, with an estimated 62% of women providing more than 20 hours of weekly care compared to 38% of men. This imbalance contributes to other problems in maintaining work-life balance, including job and financial security and physical and mental health and well-being. Therefore, managing schedule flexibility to support self-care and/or familiar caregiving responsibilities has become a priority for women entrepreneurs, evolving past the previous “hustle culture” of the past.

    4. Celebrating their accomplishments

    Unknowingly, women often downplay their accomplishments rather than celebrate their wins. For many, sharing a win can feel like bragging or superficial. Others may know it’ll spark jealousy in others, which can lead to catty responses. However, women should be as proud as men for their accomplishments and not be afraid to speak up about them.

    This fade-into-the-background approach also aligns with how men and women differ regarding their resumes or applying for new opportunities. Men are confident, sometimes overly so, in talking about their qualifications. At the same time, women aren’t as likely to be forthcoming with their accolades forthright, even if they are factual and not inflated.

    5. Handling a fear of failure

    Insecurities are a big challenge holding women entrepreneurs back from taking the next big step. Having the courage to make and learn from mistakes is something every entrepreneur must have. The road isn’t always linear and full of plenty of setbacks, but failure often leads to bigger, better things.

    However, when women are given opportunities, they know there’s a lot of weight on them to not fail. It’s underserved pressure and unrealistic expectations as not every idea is going to be a winning one. Not every strategy or client is going to be the right fit. Understanding how to cope with the fear of failure and getting back up and trying again is a lesson every woman entrepreneur will learn time and time again and become stronger for.

    Related: Female Founders Need to Stop Self-Sabotaging

    6. Asking for help

    Whether it’s asking for virtual administrative assistance or capital funding from investors, women face the challenge of asking for help and delegating responsibilities. The perception of being able to handle everything alone is usually ingrained. But as business grows, it’s only practical to call on help when needed.

    Asking for help leaves space and energy to streamline efficiency to maximize efforts. A good way to identify areas where help is most impactful is to look at the list of to-dos and see which tasks can be delegated to someone else. This applies to both business and personal life. Social media, scheduling, onboarding, cooking, all of these types of tasks can be assigned as needed to free up time to concentrate on business goals.

    Building a business is hard enough without the additional challenges women entrepreneurs face that men don’t. As the workforce continues to shift and glass ceilings are broken, women can show up in professional spaces and receive the same opportunities and advantages. Until then, maintaining strong support through community and staying resilient are two attributes females have become all too much of an expert in.

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    Kelly Hyman

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  • I Watch Great Teams Make These Business-Destroying Mistakes All The Time. Here’s Where They’re Going Wrong. | Entrepreneur

    I Watch Great Teams Make These Business-Destroying Mistakes All The Time. Here’s Where They’re Going Wrong. | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In my 20+ year career as an entrepreneur who’s built, acquired, and sold numerous successful businesses, I’ve observed several factors that can take an otherwise amazing team and viable business idea and drive it into the ground:

    • Not fully understanding who you serve (who your customers are).
    • Selling what you’ve got rather than what they want.
    • Putting out the message where it isn’t heard or seen.

    Let’s explore these considerations and the best strategies and tips I’ve learned to help establish your offering, build your brand and strengthen your competitive advantage.

    Related: Common Mistakes First-Time Entrepreneurs Make and How to Stop Them

    1. Identifying your customers

    If you’ve been in business for a while or have a well-developed business plan, you most likely have a good idea of who your customers are. We traditionally think of customers as those we sell stuff to, whether products or services. That’s fine and undoubtedly important, but we need to think more broadly about all who we provide value to and rely on.

    While generating value for and revenue from clients is essential, to create a sustainable business model and competitive advantage, you must establish and nurture relationships with all the stakeholders that make your enterprise and growth possible.

    Accordingly, I expand the definition of customers to include partners, vendors, investors, employees, advisors, industry, community, natural environment and the other stakeholders I count on. When we build our venture to provide the most value to all parties, we generate goodwill, strong relationships and trust — all of which help us perform at our best and deliver the most to clients (buyers, users, tenants, etc.)

    To explore who your customers are, list all the individuals and organizations you interact with in your business. In a second column, outline everything you provide to each party — get creative.

    Related: How to Target the Right Audience in 5 Simple Steps

    2. Crafting offerings based on actual wants and needs

    As entrepreneurs, we need to know how our stakeholders think. That is, what they value, want, need and fear.

    A common mistake in business and marketing is selling only what you have or know, i.e., building an offer based on what you’ve got. Of course, it’s tough to sell what you don’t have, and you should focus efforts where you have relevant skills and experience; however, you need to dig deeper to understand what customers need and then find ways to supplement or tailor your offering to satisfy those requirements.

    The way to do this is by building an ideal client profile. Let’s look at an example to illustrate. Since I’m a commercial real estate guy, we’ll use an example from my experience (though this concept could apply to any industry).

    Let’s say you own an office building and know your tenants are midsize corporations. They need office space, want it to be up-to-date, and insist on good parking. That’s a good starting point but doesn’t give you much to work with to build a compelling offer and competitive advantage.

    To get a better idea of who your prospects are and what they want, consider the following:

    • What industry are they in, and what unique needs accompany that?
    • How many employees do they have, i.e., how much space do they need? Are they growing?
    • What is their typical budget?
    • What lease terms do they prefer — are they worried about risk or commitment?
    • What is their working and collaboration style?
    • What amenities do they prefer and/or demand?

    We’re alluding to demographics and psychographics (behavioral characteristics) as they apply to organizations and their decision-makers. Let’s do the same for a product or service targeted toward individuals. We can look at:

    • Income level
    • Geographic location
    • Lifestyle
    • Age
    • Education
    • Adoption of technology

    With the insights gathered through this process, you can shape your product or service into something that stakeholders will raise their hand for, saying, “I want this — How do I get it now?”

    This strategy works to understand all your customer groups and is particularly valuable in creating offerings that speak to and attract investors and employees, in addition to conventional customers.

    Related: How Customer Discovery Can Significantly Enhance Your Product-Market Fit

    3. Focusing your marketing efforts where your audience is active

    Another important aspect of your ideal client profile and getting the message out effectively is knowing which websites, social media platforms and publications they interact with and the traditional and digital communication channels they prefer.

    Without solid data that provides a scientific basis to determine your customers’ behavior and communication preferences, trying to get your product/service in front of them is difficult and financially wasteful.

    If you’ve been marketing for a while, you may be sitting on a gold mine of data that could be transformed into actionable knowledge regarding your audience. If you have a lot of data or need help making sense of it, there are data management tools and advisors that can assist with data collection and analysis.

    This brings to mind another important point that I’ve learned from years of experience trying every channel and technology available:

    You don’t need to use every marketing tactic and channel — just those that work and which you can develop a mastery of. Start where you know your potential customers are most active. If they prefer email — roll with it; if they spend hours on social media daily, put your marketing dollars there.

    Once you’ve gained traction in one medium and your system is fine-tuned and generating ROI, slowly build up your tool kit and presence by adding one channel or medium at a time and experiment to find what works best for you and your audience.

    Related: Why Every Marketing Channel Won’t Work for Your Business

    Supporting growth

    Achieving a competitive advantage and sustainable growth is much more feasible when you know your customers, their characteristics, what drives them and the messages that resonate and where to deliver them for maximum response and return. In addition to the quantitative benefits, when your stakeholders feel you’re in tune with their desires, expectations, and values, they’ll buy into your mission and vision.

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    Robert Finlay

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  • 6 Things You Gain By Embracing Failure | Entrepreneur

    6 Things You Gain By Embracing Failure | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    While embracing failure does not necessarily guarantee success, it can improve your chances of success in the long run. By embracing failure, you can learn from your mistakes, adjust your approach and try again with more knowledge and experience.

    As an entrepreneur, I’ve had my fair share of failures. But I never entertained the thought to stop, nor did I doubt myself. I gave my previous efforts some thought, regrouped and tried again.

    The success rate of embracing failure depends on various factors, such as your attitude towards failure, the complexity of the task or goal and the level of effort and persistence applied. Some people may find that embracing failure leads to greater success because it helps them develop resilience and learn from their mistakes, while others may struggle to accept failure and become discouraged.

    Related: Why You Must Embrace Failure to Succeed in Business

    I’m an optimist through and through, so, most of the time, I believe that things are going to go well before giving any thought to the opposite. And when it doesn’t go as well as I believed it would, my thoughts are “oh well, now what do I do?” and “what can I do differently, or better?” Immediately throwing in the towel has never been my first thought. I want to learn from those mistakes and even build on them if I can.

    We all know who Stephen King is, and a lot of us are very familiar with one of his most notable pieces of work, the novel Carrie. Carrie was rejected 30 times before it was published. In his earlier years, King talks about submitting short stories to magazines beginning at the age of 16 and hanging the rejection slips on a nail until the slips were so heavy, he had to change the nail to a spike.

    Thomas Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Edison embraced the fact that everything he tried so far had not worked — and continued until he got it. That’s the key. Embrace, learn, and keep going.

    Failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey: No entrepreneur has achieved success without experiencing failure along the way. Learning to embrace failure and learn from mistakes is crucial for any entrepreneur because failure is an inevitable part of the entrepreneurial journey. Most successful entrepreneurs have experienced failure at some point in their careers.

    Here are six reasons why embracing failure and learning from your mistakes is so important for entrepreneurs:

    1. Failure is a valuable learning experience

    When you fail, you have the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and figure out what went wrong. This has been something I’ve learned to embrace. Having this knowledge can help you make better decisions in the future and avoid making the same mistakes again. The more you fail, the more you learn, and the better equipped you become to deal with challenges in the future.

    Related: Why Learning From Mistakes Is an Invaluable Experience for Business Owners

    2. Failure builds resilience

    Entrepreneurship is a tough and challenging journey, and failure is a natural part of it. When you learn to embrace failure and bounce back from it, you build resilience and mental toughness, which are great qualities for success in any field. Without failure, you may not discover new opportunities or breakthroughs.

    3. Failure helps you take calculated risks

    If you’re not willing to take risks, you’ll never be able to achieve anything great. However, taking risks means that you may fail from time to time. Learning to embrace failure and learn from your mistakes will help you take calculated risks and make better decisions.

    4. Failure can lead to innovation

    Some of the greatest innovations in history have come as a result of failure. When something doesn’t work out the way you expected, you have the opportunity to think outside the box and come up with new and innovative solutions.

    5. Failure can make you more empathetic

    When you fail, you can develop a deeper sense of empathy for others who are going through a similar experience. This can help you build stronger relationships with your employees, customers and partners.

    Related: 10 Lessons About Failure That Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

    6. Failure helps you to identify your weaknesses

    When you fail, you are forced to confront your weaknesses and areas where you need to improve. This self-reflection can help you to become more self-aware and develop strategies to overcome your weaknesses.

    In conclusion, learning to embrace failure and learn from your mistakes is essential for any entrepreneur who wants to succeed. By accepting failure as a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the challenges and obstacles that come your way and ultimately achieve your goals. You’ll also develop resilience, learn valuable lessons, spark innovation, overcome fear and build a stronger team.

    Ultimately, our value and worth are not determined by our successes or failures, but by the self-worth we each possess as human beings.

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    Athalia Monae

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  • If Your Leadership Style Is Ever Judged By Others, Here’s 8 Things You Should Do | Entrepreneur

    If Your Leadership Style Is Ever Judged By Others, Here’s 8 Things You Should Do | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Managers are expected to be resilient and take bad feedback gracefully, but these are skills that don’t come naturally to everyone, of course. Being criticized by a team, for example, can be particularly hard for managers to swallow.

    These practical steps will guide you through that challenging process, and help turn the tide toward learning and professional betterment.

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    Joanna Kulbacka

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  • 8 Positive Actions You Can Take After Getting Negative Feedback From Your Team

    8 Positive Actions You Can Take After Getting Negative Feedback From Your Team

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Managers are expected to be resilient and take bad feedback gracefully, but these are skills that don’t come naturally to everyone, of course. Being criticized by a team, for example, can be particularly hard for managers to swallow.

    These practical steps will guide you through that challenging process, and help turn the tide toward learning and professional betterment.

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    Joanna Kulbacka

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  • How to Avoid These Costly Mistakes in Your Startup’s Sales Strategy

    How to Avoid These Costly Mistakes in Your Startup’s Sales Strategy

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We live in a time where ideas can become businesses at an unprecedented rate. It has never been faster to have an idea, file for a name, quickly get a logo and business address and move on with that idea. This ease of entry, plus the aftermath of the Great Resignation, “Quiet Quitting” and turbulent market disruptions led our economy to a proliferation of new businesses and startups, many of which are small and agile enough to succeed where larger companies would fail.

    However, that is not without challenges, as startups are under immense pressure to succeed. They must gain traction and prove their worth to investors while maintaining a sense of normalcy and momentum. However, with new startups, many induce self-inflicted problems in the ramp-up to launch and scale.

    We’ve all seen it — the entrepreneur or founder that agonizes over every decision tries to do everything themselves and wastes countless hours over distractions, from agonizing over trivial choices, not making decisions fast enough or even delaying selling the product or service. In the end, startups need to focus on their core mission and not get distracted. Making decisions quickly and efficiently can increase their chances of success.

    What are the most common areas in sales strategy that entrepreneurs need to focus on to avoid costly mistakes?

    1. Realize what your strengths are, and sell to those strengths

    The strength of your brand is essential to find an effective strategy to sell that brand. The team should continuously find direct paths to sales by getting in front of the right audiences, staying consistent and constantly pushing. Branding is vital to reach potential customers, so it is essential to make finding the strength of your brand a priority. Customers must be able to identify with the message that the brand is trying to sell, and they should feel confident in the product or service offered. If a company can manage to do this, then they are well on its way to finding success.

    However, it is not always easy to maintain a strong brand, and it takes a lot of work to keep pushing the message and ensure it reaches the right people. There are many ways to market a product or service, but it is essential to remember that not all of them will be effective for every company. It is vital to research what has worked well for others in the past and then adapt those methods to fit the company’s needs. There will always be some trial and error involved, but as long as the team is willing to put in the effort, there is no reason why the company cannot find success.

    Related: How to Identify Your Competitive Strengths for Your Business Plan

    2. Stop trying to be everything to everybody

    Trying to be everything to everybody is a trap that catches many entrepreneurs. Almost every entrepreneur is guilty of this, which needs to be addressed in strategy before execution. They believe that by offering more products or services, they will be able to attract more customers and grow their business. However, this is often not the case. When a company tries to be all things to everyone, they spread themselves too thin and cannot provide the quality of service that their customers expect. One of the worst traps a new startup can find themselves in is overpromising service, continuously introducing new lines or services and overextending resources that are not part of the company’s core.

    Additionally, constantly introducing new lines or services can confuse customers and make it difficult for them to know what the company offers. Entrepreneurs need to focus on what they do best and not try to be everything to everybody. By doing so, they will be able to provide the quality service that their customers demand and sustainably grow their business.

    Related: You Can’t Be Everything for Everybody, So Stop Trying

    3. Find your niche, and sell to it — consistently

    Consistency is vital to success. A sound sales strategy should be built on a foundation of core values and principles that are unlikely to change over time. Find your core and niche, do not stop selling to it, and continuously improve the profitability of those sales. This stability gives customers and clients confidence that they know what they can expect from the company. It also allows salespeople to build strong relationships with their clients based on trust and mutual understanding.

    In contrast, a “throw everything at it” approach to sales may yield short-term results but is ultimately unsustainable. This strategy is often based on changing messaging, sales techniques and target markets to make quick sales rather than build long-term relationships. Not only is this approach confusing for customers, but it also makes it difficult for salespeople to establish themselves as trusted advisors.

    It is also important to remember that industry partners are essential for success. Cultivate these relationships and work collaboratively. Blaming them for failures is not productive and will only damage valuable partnerships. A sound sales strategy is vital to success, informed by a deep understanding of the core audience and built on solid relationships with industry partners.

    In the end, consistency is critical to success in sales. Companies and entrepreneurs who focus on building a solid foundation for their business are more likely to weather the ups and downs of the market, find growth and scale.

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    Adam Horlock

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