Use of ‘Pareto Thinking’ is highly relevant and important when applied to sales people. For example, 20% of sales people’s activities will create 80% of sales achieved, which has enormous consequences on how to optimise and manage lead generation activities.

Generating leads is an important sales activity that plants the seeds of growth for sustainable business development. A lead is purely a name that you could refer to as a SUSPECT because their potential to buy is unknown.

Before you can qualify leads to determine whether they have the money, authority and desire to buy your products/services you need to generate them! When deciding upon which lead generation methods work best for you and your organisation, it helps to have clarity on the type of customers that you’d like to attract. This means creating an Ideal Customer Profile that can begin to provide direction to your lead generation activities.

The following questions will stimulate your thinking when it comes to developing an Ideal Customer Profile:

● What size of organisation would you prefer to deal with?

● Typically, how many people will they employ?

● What market sector(s) do these organisations operate within?

● Who specifically will be buying your products/services and what are their titles?

● Where geographically would you like these organisations to be located?

● What does your organisation offer that is unique?

● What types of organisations will be attracted by this uniqueness?

● What do your best customers possess that you would like to replicate in others?

● Which of your existing customers were the easiest and quickest to convert?

● What similarities do these customers possess?

● Are there any specific criteria that prospective organisations should have in place, so that your products/services can be optimised?

Having a well-defined profile of your ‘ideal customer’ can prove to be invaluable when determining which methods to use for lead generation, and improves the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.

You may also discover that the process for asking for referrals becomes easier and generates a better response, because you are providing the person with a tighter specification of what you are looking for – this concentrates their thinking towards the direction you have defined.

News: Only one piece of important news today … have you nominated yet over at Top Sales & Marketing Awards?

Yesterday we announced the first stage of this year’s Top Sales & Marketing Awards – we opened for nominations in the fourteen categories (if you missed that post, please simply scroll down)

This year of course is only the second time we have organized the event, although now, we have the experience of that inaugural event behind us, and that is significant.

I decided in November 2010 (yes, we only took thirty three days from conception to launch!) that the only way to find out what it took to organize such an ambitious project was to actually stage it: I couldn’t seek advice, because nobody had ever tried it before. I felt a little like Sir Edmund Hilary when he was about to become the first man to conquer Mount Everest: Lots of people could describe the mountain right up to a level below the summit, but none of them were able to offer any advice about succeeding on that final stage.

In essence, I was challenging paradigms, and this has been a significant characteristic of my professional life. I enjoy pushing back boundaries; experimenting, and particularly proving people wrong.

Last year, on more than one occasion I made reference to Thomas Edison, suggesting that if we did not achieve all of our objectives, I still had another 9.999 attempts to get it right – and that is precisely how I always feel.

Everything that happens in life should be treated as a dress rehearsal for what comes next, which will always be better if we develop that “How can I do this better” mindset, and continually challenge those paradigms.

And this type of mindset is particularly relevant to sales management …

One of the key tasks of a sales manager is to continually seek ways to improve the manner in which their team operates – constantly challenging paradigms and questioning “the way we do things around here”, will ensure the team remains at optimum performance levels.

However, it is also important to stay within an overall long term strategy and not effect change for change’s sake. Here are some thoughts on moving forward in a structured manner.

First, keep the key management functions in mind

• Define objectives (your own and others)

• Plan (and time) action

• Communicate (throughout the process)

• Support others’ action

• Evaluate performance (and link to the future)

• Then relate this to the task, the team and the individual people

Keeping the Overall Management Process in Mind

Define Objectives:

• Task – Identify task and constraints

• Team – Set targets and Involve team

• Individual needs – Agree targets and responsibilities

Plan:

• Task – Establish priorities

• Team – Structure and delegate

• Individual needs – Assess skills, train and delegate

Communicate:

• Task – Brief and check understanding

• Team – Consult, obtain feedback

• Individual needs – Listen, advise and enthuse

Support/Control:

• Task – Monitor progress, check standards

• Team – Co-ordinate, reconcile conflict

• Individual needs – Recognize, encourage and counsel

Evaluate:

• Task – Review, re-plan and summaries

• Team – Reward success; learn from failure (and success)

• Individual Needs – Appraise, guide and train for the future

This view encapsulates, and simplifies, the whole process.

With this picture in mind, certain key issues are worth a mention:

Link to the Future

Ongoing success, as a manager, is influenced by:

• The attitude you take to the transition

• What you do before you move into a new appointment

• The early focus you bring to bear on key issues

• The relationship you thus cultivate with staff

• The working habits you create for yourself (and others) in process

Together, all the above influence early success in the job – and how you take things forward into the future.

Key Issues

From the beginning, always operate on the basis that managing people:

• Takes time – you cannot get so bound up in your own workload that you skimp on time you should spend with others

• Takes effort – it is a challenge, there are no magic formulae or quick fixes that will do the job for you

• Needs thought – the obvious or immediate answer may not be best, things may well need research, analysis and thinking through

• Is not a solo effort – seek and take advice from where you can, including your own staff

• Will not always go right – as Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is the name so many people give to their mistakes.” Admit your mistakes (publicity if necessary) and learn from your experience

Remember too that managing people:

• Is a process of helping others to be self-sufficient – this implies trust and that management works best when you take a positive view of what people can do (and do not see your role as a sort of corporate security guard)

• Is based on good, regular and open communication – something that pervades many issues commented on in these pages

• Needs to be acceptable to people before it can be effective – hence the crucial role of motivation as part of the management task

• Become self-sustaining when it works – i.e. if people find your management helpful (to the job, the organization and to them) then they will support it and support you

Overall, management is not what you do to people, but the process of how you work with people to help prompt their performance. Work with people from day one, and go on doing it throughout your management career.

At the end of the day, success comes down to a considered approach. Charge in, desperate to make an impression, go at everything at once in order to make an impression, and disaster may closely follow. ‘Twas ever thus:

“First organize the near at hand, then organize the far removed

First organize the inner, then organize the outer

First organize the basic, then organize the derivative

First organize the strong, then organize the weak

First organize the great, then organize the small

First organize yourself, then organize others.”

General Zhuge Liang

Perhaps we should highlight the last sentence: “First organize yourself, then organize others.”

Last Word

Being a manager is a challenge, but it is also almost infinitely rewarding to create and maintain a team of people who deliver excellent performance and produce whatever results are targeted. It is a task that takes time, requires effort and needs a considered approach.

All sorts of things can help, but only one person can guarantee that you become a good manager – and that’s you!

News: Well, the significant news is still your opportunity to nominate your favorite …. book/blog/resource site/thought leader/sales productivity tool/webinar/eBook …. etc. etc. Please don’t delay, as we close the nominations on November 8th, so in an orderly line, do make your way over to www.topsalesawards.com

This year’s online Top Sales & Marketing Awards ceremony takes place on December 15th, and we anticipate that this prestigious event, which has now become an annual fixture, will create even more excitement within the global sales community than last year.

There will be three medals up for grabs in fourteen categories.

In addition, we will be inducting a further six “sales legends” into the “Hall of Fame” during the ceremony.

How Will the Final Nominees Be Chosen?

What Is The Criteria? …

With the exception of Top Sales & Marketing Article, the judges will select between six and twelve finalists (depending on the category) from all of the nominations made.
How Will Voting Take Place?

The public voting polls will be open at www.topsalesawards.com from 12:00 mid-day on November 18th until 12:00 mid-day on December 9th: Anyone is eligible to vote as many times as they like, and in as many categories as they wish, but there is a restriction of one vote per IP address per 24 hours.

Voters will be asked to register, but will only need to do this once.

How Will the Winners Be Chosen & Announced?

Public voting will only account for 50% of the total marks, and the other 50% will be down to the judging panel in each category. Each panel will consist of three industry experts.

Once each judging panel has made their decision, their marks will be passed to an independent adjudicator who will then verify the overall results in each category.

The names of the judging panel and the adjudicator will be announced before November 10th

The winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in each category will be announced during the live online ceremony on Tuesday December 13th, which begins at 12:00 mid-day Eastern (5:00pm GMT)

Places for the ceremony are free, and registration is open from November 10th on the home page at www.topsalesawards.com

We will also post the results on site from December 16th.

So, your first task is to pop over and nominate all of your favourites ……..

Yes, I know that due to huge technological advances in the field of video conferencing etc. we are conducting far less face to face meetings these days: Indeed, the harbingers of doom are predicting that “personal selling” is shortly to be consigned to the annals of history. But for the time being, most professional salespeople have to be involved in a presentation at some time in their sales career – Top 5 % players present their proposals every time.

Presentations allow us to:

• Influence a group of important people

• Gain consensus and commitment

• Find out who the real players are and their real status

• Set the ground rules for a major sale

• Make a lasting impression of professionalism

When it comes to the enthusiasm that sales professionals have for making a presentation, they broadly fall into four categories:

The Avoider

An Avoider does everything possible to escape from having to stand in front of an audience – in some drastic cases, salespeople may seek positions that do not involve making presentations.

The Register

A Register is also extremely hesitant of speaking in public. However, Registers may not be able to avoid speaking as part of their job, but they never encourage it. When they do speak they do so very reluctantly.

The Acceptor

The Acceptor will give presentations as part of their job, but does not seek opportunities to do so. Acceptors occasionally give a presentation and feel they did a good job. They even find that, once in a while, they are quite persuasive and enjoy the experience.

The Seeker

A Seeker looks for opportunities to speak. They understand that anxiety can be a stimulant which fuels enthusiasm during a presentation. Seekers work at building their professional communication skills and self-confidence by speaking often.

In Summary

The reality is that making presentations is an essential sales skill and, as I highlighted earlier, Top 5% achievers are very good presenters. Any salesman or woman, who has ambitions to become the best in their sector or industry, will need to ensure that they can deliver dynamic, convincing and professional presentations, whenever they are called upon to do so.

Becoming a Seeker is a pre-requisite for success!

News: Most people are unaware of the power they possess when entering into a negotiation scenario, so I thought I would share my secrets – you can read my sales tip HERE

With a tail wind - and if the Gods are smiling down on me - the revamped Top Sales & Marketing Awards site will launch today – HERE

The organization with the ability to overcome the variety of mental models living in the minds of their workforce will be the organization that wins in the future.

Emphasis has to be placed on creating an environment in which the ‘can do – will do’ mentality thrives and becomes the norm; success and achievement are expected and, as a consequence, are much more likely to happen. We call this fulfilled expectation.

Expect Beliefs to Change

Throughout a person’s lifetime, beliefs change continually. Beliefs that they once thought to be immutable cease to be true.

Salespeople have their own unique sets of beliefs, some of which limit their potential in sales. For instance, during a recession, the members of a sales force may all believe that strong sales are impossible. But if just one person increases their sales, what seemed an inevitable fact will suddenly appear more like a thin excuse for poor performance.

We Must Challenge Negative Beliefs

Sales ‘captains’, who challenge negative beliefs with good questions, can help create shifts in mindset. Take a look at these examples of negative beliefs and examples of questions that challenge them.

Statement

“Our solutions are too expensive”

Response

“Compared with whom?”
“Compared to what?”
“How do you know?”

Statement

“I’m hopeless at cold calling”

Response

“According to whom?”
“What prevents you from being good at cold calling?”
“What would happen if you were good?”

Statement

“My sales target is too high this month, I’ll never achieve it”

Response

“What do you need to do so that you can?”

While challenging questions may not instantly create a belief change, over time they can enable salespeople to shift their perceptions of their beliefs, recognizing that there are other possibilities and options available to them.

Developing Self Worth

Organizations that recognize the importance of helping their salespeople develop a strong sense of self-worth are many times more likely to produce high performers.

Self-worth is vital to everyone, but especially to salespeople who hear “no” more often than they hear “yes, I’ll buy“.

A salesperson’s self-esteem can sometimes take a hammering, but organizations that find ways to build their salespeople’s self-esteem reap an invaluable dividend.

Self–worth translates into attitude – that small thing that makes such a big difference!

In Summary – The most successful salespeople take care of their attitude and they understand that ….

Great attitude  = Great results
Average attitude = Average results
Poor attitude  = Poor results

The second commonality with successful salespeople, is that they expect to be successful, and they want it badly enough that they bring about its happening – i.e. fulfilled expectation.

There is no secret potion that will make you successful – it is all in your head: If you want it badly enough, you will achieve it!

News: Excellent sales tip over on Top Sales World today from Dr. Tony: He is asking you to examine your time management skills, so do check it out ….. if you have time! HERE

Have you joined the Top Sales World LinkedIn group? Well, you really should, because yesterday we had a great discussion about sales team motivation – come and join in HERE

Very few frontline sales professionals, and very few companies conduct regular review meetings with their customers, and those that do, typically arrange them at the start of a new year or trading period: So this is a wonderful opportunity to steal a march on the competition, and in all probability, gain some incremental business that is not currently sitting in the pipeline!

The reality is that obtaining continual feedback against a set of established criteria is vital if an organization is to retain its existing top clients and seek to improve its standing and the quality of its service levels to them.

There Are At Least Seven Benefits Of Regular Feedback….

 Feedback reveals your customer’s current and future plans.
 Seeing your business from your customer’s point of view allows you to answer the question “would you do business with you?” – if not why not?
 Feedback allows you to tailor your service levels so that you enjoy maximum customer satisfaction at a minimum cost.
 If you don’t ask you’ll never know how you are doing until it’s too late! Feedback is magnified by the ‘ice berg factor’ making it more critical than it originally appears.
 Feedback can reveal what your competition are doing helping you to be a consistently strong contender.
 Gaining a reputation for wanting to hear feedback can actually make money for you.

How Often?

This will depend entirely on the importance of the account and revenue levels being achieved – or anticipated. At least annually, but I conduct a QBR (Quartrly Review Meeting) with all of my most important clients.

Assessing The Feedback You Receive

If the feedback you have been receiving to-date has not been useful ask yourself the following questions:

 Do I ask enough questions?
 Do I ask the right questions?
 Do I communicate effectively about why I am asking the questions?
 Do I ask the right people?
 Do I know how to use the data I collect?
 Am organized to respond to the information?
 Do I value and trust the information I receive?

What Do You Do With The Results?

Communicate them upwards and sidewards in company, so that everyone is aware.
Act immediately on vital issues
Feedback and confirm remedial actions
Confirm satisfactory resolve

Remember:

The Account Review Process -
 Is a non-threatening meeting –
 It is a fact finding session not a sales event in the short term.

But It is highly likely that during this meeting you will uncover additional short, medium and long term opportunities.

What are you waiting for?

News: There is a whole raft of new resources released today – and every Monday – over at Top Sales Management including a fresh article, new “How to” guide, latest sales team development session, and a sales management self-development piece – do pop in – HERE

Many years ago – more than I care to remember, but I think I still had some hair - I created a Sales Camp and a Sales University for Autodesk: One of the modules was “Telemarketing” which was a real challenge for me, as I had no experience. So I spent a whole month doing exactly that. And what an experience! But I learnt very quickly, and actually - if I say so myself - I was pretty good at it (No fear!)

Based on those four weeks, I wrote the module, and yesterday, as I was scanning through a lot of my archived collateral, I found it again. . …. so here it is for your enjoyment (Just don’t show it to Wendy Weiss, or Art Sobczak, or any of my other chums who specialize in this sort of thing!!)

Uncovering new opportunities and potential new business is an essential task of any sales team, however, it is probably one of the most unpopular activities. The main reason for this is that professional salespeople, just like the rest of us, fear rejection.

The reality is though, if we have confidence in our products, solutions and services, we owe it to ourselves and to our company to tell as many people as possible. I have always taken the view that if a prospective client rejects my proposal, then they have lost out on dramatically improving their business. A positive and confident mind-set is essential for successful telemarketing and cold calling.

So what are the rules?

Plan & Prepare:

Make sure that you are prepared for the call:-
o Have all the relevant documentation to hand.
o Prepare everything you wish to ask. Use bullet points not sentences.
o Practice, write down your agenda and be direct.
o Keep the opening of the conversation simple, but say something interesting, try using a prime desire statement to “grab” their interest so they’ll want to hear more.
o Explain why you are calling.
o Question – use a variety of questioning techniques i.e. Open, Reflective, Direct, Hypothetical, Exploratory etc.

Set Yourself Goals & Clear Objectives (Primary & Secondary):

Consider – what is the purpose of the telephone call? (aim high but realistic)
o Is it to inform?
o To establish a need?
o To obtain an appointment?

Never attempt to sell your product or services over the phone (unless you are in a telesales role)
Never make a statement you cannot back up.
Remember to discipline yourself – Don’t be deflected

Ensure That You Have The Right Information:

Never assume that the information you have is correct:
o Confirm you are talking to the right person.
o Confirm they have the authority and not just the title.

Be informed
o Know the industry they operate in.
o Who else have you helped in that industry?
o Tell them.

Reaching The Decision Maker:
Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right.

Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach.

When to call: If you keep a call log of all your calls, you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker (e.g. traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call).

Human Barriers: The higher up the organisation you go, then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker.

Try outside the normal office hours. You will avoid the receptionist and may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company – they also have the time to talk!

As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling – therefore the receptionist is “expecting your next call”.

Close With A Commitment – Keep That Commitment:

If the commitment is to an appointment then always confirm in writing but,
- Be Brisk
- Be Polite
- Be Immediate

Some General Tips For Successful Telephone Communication:

- Always dial the number yourself.
- Ask for the contact by name, i.e. “Mr. Smith” please.
- If speaking to his/her secretary you may use the contact’s first name as well.
- If asked who is calling use your full name.
- If asked the name of your company don’t be afraid to give it.
- If asked why you are calling, tell them.
- If they are not available, say you will call back and ask the most convenient time.
- If they are on another call, do not stay on the line.

Telephone Qualification Process:

The following is a list of areas you need to incorporate into your ‘script’ with some suggestions as to how you may find out the answers, however the secret to good telephone communication is to make it yours, i.e. your language, your terminology, that way you will feel confident and this will be apparent to the person you are calling.

Responsibility/DMU (Decision Making Unit)
Who should I be talking to regarding the purchase of?
Who else would be involved in such a decision?

Money
When do you believe a budget will be made available for such a purchase/project this year?
What do you envisage that budget to be (i.e. is it realistic).
Is the budget dependent upon anything?

Implementation
When is this purchase required to be completed by?
Is there a particular reason for this timescale? (Are they realistic?)

Competition
Who else are you talking to?
How did you choose them?

Expertise
What are you hoping to achieve? (Is it within our capabilities?)

Some Rules for You to Remember:

Always Smile - It projects a warm personality which is non threatening.
Always Be Enthusiastic - It’s infectious.
Stand Up For The Important Call - You will sound more decisive, more authoritative and it expands the diaphragm.
Always Plan Your Call - Be prepared, know the reaction you are aiming for.

So you see, it’s as easy as that (possibly)

I feel certain that you will agree with me, the ability to generate new opportunities via referrals is a significant weapon in any frontline sales professional’s armory.

I am fortunate to have two good chums who are the best coaches in the business – Joanne Black, the creator/author of “No More Cold Calling” and Paul McCord author of “Creating a Million-dollar-a-year Sales Income: Sales Success Through Client Referrals“ and I have learnt a great deal from them.

One thing that I have picked up is the natural retiscence of most salespeople when it comes to asking for a referral – and also when to ask.

The reality is that people will freely give referrals when they have benefited from your product/service and have an established relationship with you.

This rarely occurs during the initial meeting because, whilst they may like you, they haven’t yet validated what you can do for them. That’s why asking for referrals should be when the relationship you have established is a strong enough relationship to ensure their trust and belief in you.

Assessing the strength of your existing customer relationships can be very subjective,  unless there is a meaningful set of relationship criteria in place.

Although these will vary from organization to organization, they may include factors like:

• Communication frequency with key influencers
• Satisfaction with product/service
• Speed of response to queries/problems
• Length of relationship

The customers with the highest scores (based on the relationship criteria) are those that should be approached for referrals.

What is the best way of generating referrals?

1. Prepare a description, in the form of a criteria list that specifies the type of person or organization that you are looking to approach. This should be based on the profile of your “Ideal Customer.”

2. Evaluate all your customers, using relationship criteria, and identify a list of those with the highest scores. For every customer, your aim is to generate a minimum of five referrals. Therefore, if you have 25 customers on your list, your target number of referrals will be 125.

3. Contact each customer on your list and take the pressure off them by explaining that you don’t want to sell to them – you would like their help. For example: “Do you know anyone who is (specify your criteria) that would be interested in learning about how our products/services can benefit them?” Preface your question with a softener such as: “I wonder if you can help me” or “I would really appreciate some advice.”

4. When customers give you referrals, ask their permission to use their name when making contact. Alternatively, where your relationship is ‘rock solid’, ask customers to make the initial introduction by letter or email. Often, customers will give a glowing testimonial and create a relevant context when introducing people.

5. Thank customers for referrals and keep them apprised of your progress:This creates a positive association towards the giving of more referrals in the future.
Be under no illusion, referral selling is incredibly powerful!

News: We are working hard to launch the new re-vamped Top Sales Awards site, and we will come in on schedule next Tuesday - just in time to receive all your nominations.

Oh, and just went through a milestone with EzineArticles - 350K reads, which is pretty amazing - some of my colleagues tend to look down their noses at EZ, but I have to tell you that in terms of return on investment, they are miles ahead: CEO Chris Knight, is a good chum, and he is doing a fantastic job.

I am posting this w/e, so if you are at a loose end, why not join me? I am also looking forward to the All Blacks vs Les Bleus on Sunday - ”Allez les bleus” – in case my wife reads this post!

As you can imagine, I am often asked by sales leaders, anxious to recruit the best salespeople they can afford, just what is it that makes a consistently top performer, what are their characteristics, where are their strengths and what differentiates them?

Over the past twenty years, I have trained and developed thousands of sales professionals – from foundation right up to “master craftsman” level – and this has given me the opportunity to formulate an accurate profile of a ‘Top 5% Achiever’.

So what is it that Top 5% Players Do?

They:

• Position themselves with the real decision-makers and avoid those without ‘approval power’. They are able to first identify and then access the formal decision making unit.

• Not only get the order, but a satisfied customer, repeat sales, enthusiastic reference sites and constantly increase sales penetration within their accounts.

• Know how to minimize the uncertainties of a cold call on a new account, by careful planning and rigorous opportunity assessment.

• Recognize when to treat an old account as a new prospect and keep the relationship fresh, alive and maintain profitability.

• Never entertain business they do not want, because they recognize that it takes just as long to work an unprofitable opportunity through the sales funnel – only to lose it at the death – as it does a profitable one. They trust their own judgment, but also rely heavily on objective assessment.

• Readily identify and know how to deal with the four different buying influences present in every sale – i.e.  Economic Buyer, Technical Buyer, User Buyer and Ally.

• Understand how to prevent sales from being sabotaged by an internal enemy – they insulate themselves by developing strong allies within.

• Are able to recognize fail-safe signals that indicate when a sale is in jeopardy. This comes from experience, but also information supplied by their allies.

• Are rigorous in tracking account progress and are able to accurately forecast future sales, because they use proven methodology which allows them to weight every opportunity in the pipeline.

• Avoid ‘dry-months’ by allocating time wisely to their critical selling tasks – i.e. Prospecting for new business, covering the bases with existing opportunities and finally closing the best few.

We can then go further by identifying eighteen core competencies in which Top 5% achievers generally excel:

• Organizational skills

• Communication

• Presentation skills

• Business development

• Opportunity assessment

• Interpersonal skills

• Creative thinking

• Critical thinking

• People awareness

• Integration skills

• Resilience

• Strategic approach

• Pro-activity

• Negotiation

• Key Account management

• Team membership

• Process & methodology

• Political awareness
In Summary

The very best sales performers do not achieve that status overnight: They work tirelessly to develop and hone their skills-sets, insist on regular top-up coaching and seek out those who are outperforming them, so that they may learn and improve still further. They have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of their industry and sector. Finally, they concentrate on eliminating any weaknesses and are anxious to be assessed and receive feedback on a regular basis.

How do you measure up?

News: Here are a couple of posts/articles I think you may find interesting: “What Does Your Business Card Say About You?” - and I should have added “Doesn’t Say About You!” plus “Qualify, Qualify, Qualify!”

JF Guest Author Post

Everybody romanticises of starting their own business. No matter what walk of life you originate from, there is no doubt that you have believed being your own boss will be like living the dream, but have you really got what it takes?

There are key points to consider when assessing your overall character for succeeding in business.

1) Are you a Workaholic?

You fantasise of working your own hours, fitting your business around your family life, and having no one telling you what to do? Think again. Starting up and sustaining a business often takes over a life, personal and professional, and the hours worked are usually long into the night. As you will be your own manager, there is no one better qualified to do this job than you, so if you really want to succeed you will have to ditch the 9-5 attitude, for the first year at least.

2) Can You Work on Your Own Initiative?

It’s ideal that there is no one to tell you what to do, and no supervisor to become disgruntled with, but without these reminders, you must be able to motivate yourself to work. This can be difficult when starting up as funds are generally low and your salary could well be below what you were earning when working for a larger company.

3) Do You Have a Good Relationship with the Public?

You won’t have a superior anymore, but you will have clients and customers. In a lot of ways these are more difficult to manage. They won’t pay for your services if they think they are not up to scratch and if you miss deadlines they won’t use you again. Suddenly, being nice to your boss seems like the easy option, as you have to be nice and efficient with every customer or client that you come into contact with.

4) Are You Motivated?

Once your business is starting up, sick days become a thing of the past. No one will pay you if you have a sore head from a late night, or if your child is off school with a tummy bug. Navigating your way around these unfortunate occurrences requires a solid determination and motivation.

5) Can You Live Frugally?

Of course, every entrepreneur dreams of making it big and reaping the rewards, however, even Richard Branson was poor when he started out. You must be prepared for hardship, and believe in yourself enough to know that the rewards will come, it will just take time.

If you’ve answered yes to the above questions, congratulations you have what it takes to be your own boss! Of course, your business may flourish in an instant and the above may not apply, however being prepared for setbacks as well as rewards is a realistic way of approaching any business venture and keeps you one step ahead of the competitors.

As you’ve decided that self-employment is the only path you are willing to take, you now have a few options on how you are going to travel to find that treasure!

Invention

Maybe you have a great product or service that is completely unique and deserves to be in the public domain. The world always needs cutting edge leading products or services; however this route can be costly. Patents take time, and investors need a lot of convincing, however if you can think outside the box and be resolute where others would crumble you have a chance of making it.

Service Industry

You could be a keen gardener looking to start up a gardening business, a cleaning business, a concierge service, whatever the sector, this is a fabulous way to start as you can hire out yourself first and as the orders come flooding in, you expand with staff and vehicles.

Retail

If you have a passion for fishing, it makes sense to open a fishing tackle shop, your enthusiasm will shine through to your customers and this is where repeat business will be manufactured. It is tough out there in reality, so you need to keep up-to-date online too, offering mail order services, and online shopping. The internet is a fabulous business tool as small businesses can competently compete with the big guns!

Franchise

A franchise is an ideal way to start out in business, not only do you have the security of an established brand, you also have some idea of the amount of return you can expect to make. A small investment and some hard work is usually all that’s needed to make a franchise a rolling success.

Food

People always need to eat, and if you have a new product or a talent for cooking this avenue maybe for you. On its own this industry provides a myriad of options, from fresh home-grown produce sold at farmers markets, to burger vans dotted around laybys on A roads. With a high profit margin of 70% your turnover has the potential to be huge.

Whichever industry you turn your hand to with a strong resolution and dogged determination you will make it succeed if you believe!

Author bio:
Nathan Giles is a freelance writer, journalist and editor. He often writes articles on business models, leadership and entrepreneurship subjects including start-ups, franchising opportunities, and business advice.