HELP!! Need Help Getting This Company off the Ground in a New City!

[swpaulk]

Hello Everyone,

I need help getting this company off the ground! We are in a new city and I literally don't have a network here! We started a Youth Fitness Company and I am having a hard time in Marketing and Sales! I am not sure how to set up an effective Sales/Marketing Strategy! I would love to talk with someone about the business and get some advice on how to best go about building a network!

 

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[IronBorn]

Hello!

Congrats on getting the new company started, it can be tough setting up shop in a new place that you are not familiar with.

I believe that you should sit down and develop a solid marketing/sales strategy as soon as possible. The main reason why a company goes out of business is due to a lack of sales. It is through marketing that you get the leads for these sales, so the two really go hand in hand.

You need to (1) Obtain the leads & (2) Be able to close them

While there are many different areas that you can address when it comes to this topic, the main areas I would focus on right now is the following;

1. Narrowly define your target market

I find that many new business owners try to market to everyone, rather than focusing a large portion of theirs efforts on the very specific group that is going to be using their product or service. You should develop a profile of your typical customer. This should include everything from age, sex, education, employment, context of persona, exercise attitudes, content consumption etc.

This will allow you to determine who exactly you are selling to and where the best place to market to them is in order to achieve the best results.

2. Practice, practice, practice

For me, getting good at sales and building a network came down to one thing and that was practice. At the start, I would be often nervous when picking up the phone or meeting a prospective client in person. To shed this, I left my comfort zone and kept putting myself out there.

Every day you should be sending emails, be on the phone or meeting potential new clients in person. This will help you to develop your skills as a saleswoman. If you are sending cold emails or making cold calls, make sure that you are adding some value to the person whom you are communicating with. When they are getting something out of the conversation, you are a lot more likely to warm them up, reciprocate and convert them into a sale.

3. Referral Scheme

One of the most powerful changes that I made in my business was putting in place a referral scheme. When I had an established client base, I started asking if there was anyone they might know that could also benefit from my services. The response was astounding. When you help people, they will be more than happy to help you back.

As you are in the fitness field, it will be a lot easier to set up referral scheme. Something as simple as offering a free month’s membership or $x off their annual membership if the person refers a new client to you and they sign up. This requires little work on your end, but there is a sufficient incentive on the part of these members to refer their friends, family and acquaintances.


Hope some of this helped!

 

[ZCP]

Post here (or PM me) (or post on the inside) your elevator speech.

 

[swpaulk]

Hello!

Congrats on getting the new company started, it can be tough setting up shop in a new place that you are not familiar with.

I believe that you should sit down and develop a solid marketing/sales strategy as soon as possible. The main reason why a company goes out of business is due to a lack of sales. It is through marketing that you get the leads for these sales, so the two really go hand in hand.

You need to (1) Obtain the leads & (2) Be able to close them

While there are many different areas that you can address when it comes to this topic, the main areas I would focus on right now is the following;

1. Narrowly define your target market

I find that many new business owners try to market to everyone, rather than focusing a large portion of theirs efforts on the very specific group that is going to be using their product or service. You should develop a profile of your typical customer. This should include everything from age, sex, education, employment, context of persona, exercise attitudes, content consumption etc.

This will allow you to determine who exactly you are selling to and where the best place to market to them is in order to achieve the best results.

2. Practice, practice, practice

For me, getting good at sales and building a network came down to one thing and that was practice. At the start, I would be often nervous when picking up the phone or meeting a prospective client in person. To shed this, I left my comfort zone and kept putting myself out there.

Every day you should be sending emails, be on the phone or meeting potential new clients in person. This will help you to develop your skills as a saleswoman. If you are sending cold emails or making cold calls, make sure that you are adding some value to the person whom you are communicating with. When they are getting something out of the conversation, you are a lot more likely to warm them up, reciprocate and convert them into a sale.

3. Referral Scheme

One of the most powerful changes that I made in my business was putting in place a referral scheme. When I had an established client base, I started asking if there was anyone they might know that could also benefit from my services. The response was astounding. When you help people, they will be more than happy to help you back.

As you are in the fitness field, it will be a lot easier to set up referral scheme. Something as simple as offering a free month’s membership or $x off their annual membership if the person refers a new client to you and they sign up. This requires little work on your end, but there is a sufficient incentive on the part of these members to refer their friends, family and acquaintances.


Hope some of this helped!

Thank you!! This helped! I've been sending emails and making phone calls and I have gotten a few meetings set up. I'll keep going!

 

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[swpaulk]

Post here (or PM me) (or post on the inside) your elevator speech.

We are a Youth Fitness company looking to get our kids off the couch, away from the computers, and outside with our Mud Runs and Obstacle courses! We serve ages 4-14 and we are looking to serve our local communities, schools, etc... by coming to you to provide fitness training and obstacle course fun! We are like a Huge End of the Year Field Day on wheels.

I just made that up because I honestly don't have an elevator speech! (Pathetic right?!)

You can check us out at www.mightytitanadventures.com

 

[ZCP]

And if you had a 2nd 30 seconds what would you say? What is the value to me?

Suggest hitting up Tough Mudder and Battlefrog to see if you can help with a kids course in an effort to capture audience.

Site says KY. You in ATL?

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Thank you!! This helped! I've been sending emails and making phone calls and I have gotten a few meetings set up. I'll keep going!

Do you use exclamations points so often in your emails? You use them almost every sentence here when you post. Those exclamation points can be pretty off putting to potential clients. Test one exclamation point in an email vs what you've been doing, and compare response rates.

(Pathetic right?!)

Also that's not pathetic. You're starting out. You're supposed to not know and have everything yet. Pathetic would be never starting or never taking feedback.

 

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[swpaulk]

Do you use exclamations points so often in your emails? You use them almost every sentence here when you post. Those exclamation points can be pretty off putting to potential clients. Test one exclamation point in an email vs what you've been doing, and compare response rates.



Also that's not pathetic. You're starting out. You're supposed to not know and have everything yet. Pathetic would be never starting or never taking feedback.

Thanks. No I don't use exclamation marks when writing business. This is more of a casual forum. Sort of like talking to friends so I use them in that sense to show my disappointment or excitement.

I was really saying pathetic to the fact that I don't have an elevator speech because I've always read that you are supposed to be able to sum up your business in 30 seconds or less. You're right that this is all new to me and I surely don't know everything about business yet! Thanks again for your response.

 

[swpaulk]

And if you had a 2nd 30 seconds what would you say? What is the value to me?

Suggest hitting up Tough Mudder and Battlefrog to see if you can help with a kids course in an effort to capture audience.

Site says KY. You in ATL?

Yes the first Mighty Titan was started in Kentucky and I have taken over territory for Atlanta and Georgia. It's sort of like a franchise but then again it's not a franchise.