Do you engage with questions or statements? Do questions give you an opportunity to respond?
When starting a business, do you begin with questions or statements? Do you conduct market research to understand (prospects’) preferences and feedback or begin with the premise ‘your product / offering is great and buy now?’ Do you know who you are selling to; broken down by gender, age, geography, interests, preferences, values, goals, lifestyle, income, industry and other demographics? Do you know why customers buy products and why they stop buying? Is buying an emotional act? Is this the first business perspective you are reading made up entirely of questions? Shall we begin by tackling the top five (5) areas frequently asked by our client entrepreneurs?
1. The expert or the marketer?
How’s your business growing? Do you think you can improve it by doing the same things you’re already doing? Do you agree that a winning offer and smart marketing trumps everything? Do you buy from the unknown expert with the best offer, or the known practitioner who is skilled at marketing?
2. Which matters more, direction or speed?
What’s your preference, direction or speed? Do you have the horsepower to sustain speed? What do I mean by horsepower? Do you have both the professional energy and a great team of people to conceptualize, create, plan, execute, adapt, pivot and try again? If you were forced to, what could you do right now to move your business in the right direction? Would you let us know what you are willing to do right now, to change your status quo?
3. Do you want to get unstuck?
Do you struggle with commitment or procrastination? Why do you think this is a continued challenge for you? Do you believe this is generated by a fear of failure? So, is it simply a matter of mindset? Or is it a bad habit to be broken down? Do you feel ready to create a new action-oriented habit? When is enough, enough?
4. Long live knowledge, but are you applying what you know?
Instead of telling you more to know, would questions help you tap in to what you already know? Well, let’s find out…what is your greatest fear? Do you know that playing small does not serve your talents or the world? Are you familiar with the often-quoted words, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure?” What does this mean to you? When you know better, do you do better? Have you considered how much you already know? What if you applied everything you already know? If you invested your talents by applying what you know, would you not grow? Would your investment yield more fruits and seeds?
5. If it is not comfortable, does it feel good? Do you grow in your comfort zone?
Do you have a dream to be better? Why not start with service? Do people buy to solve a problem or problems? If you knew their problems and solved them through service, would they be willing buyers? Do stories sell better than statements? Have you ever heard the aphorism, “A man with an argument will always be at the mercy of a man with an experience?” What’s your experience? Do the stories you tell yourself matter? Do you defeat yourself with negative talk and thoughts before you begin? Does it matter how you connect your experience to share your story and pitch to buyers, investors, financiers? Do you see how effective your story can be in entrepreneurship?
Ready to find out?
Everyone may see the victories, but doesn’t the real work begin in the valleys? Isn’t this why our work starts from our tagline – Knowledge In Action? Does this mean you have to work too? Is yes, the start of a relationship? There will be struggles, but how can you win if you never begin? Are we asking the right questions? Do you want to find out where your business can go and how it can grow?