Be practical

A few tips:

1- Keep in mind that sales cycles are long and clients will take longer than expected to say yes.

2- Set time aside for your sales and business development efforts… lots of time! The best person to market your products and services is you, the president.

3- Don’t assume that your products and services will sell themselves. A lot of time and energy will be required.

4- Follow up with your business contacts and build long-term relationships.

5- Don’t hesitate to seek advice from professionals, business incubators, mentors or an advisory committee. There are many good training opportunities in marketing. Such efforts and training are a wise investment.

6- Give your clients a chance to say “yes”. Make proposals and negotiate.

7- Develop a list of potential clients and classify them according to your chance of sales success (see the helpful tool in Income Estimates).