What if there was a cheat code for starting a business. All you needed to do was enter the code A43F6T48 into your phone app and you instantly became invincible and financially enabled. Then you could launch whatever business idea you have.

Seems unlikely in the real world, but are there ways to beat the odds of start up failure. With up to 80% failure rate of small emerging businesses in South Africa, it is still a wonder why we see so many new registered businesses each month. Your odds of winning at the Lotto seem almost better and a whole lot cheaper.

But there are stats that depict a reversal of these odds with up to an 80% success rate for businesses who participate in a good quality Incubator. A successful Incubator with a solid methodology for business development accompanied by experienced start up coaches and a network of associated practitioners who will guide and lead you to the right places towards success.

If there were such places, why do so many people still risk the odds of trying to go it alone and beat the system? Maybe for the same reason that there are long queues at the Lotto each week, or hundreds of people at the casinos each evening. The faintest of hope drives people to play the odds and try to win, knowing deep down that it is almost impossible.

But beat the odds we do. Here at the Entrepreneur Incubator and Academy we have a very well versed plan of action to start any business. Our Steps to Success guides our clients together with solid coaching and mentoring along a road that will ask all the required questions to lead to points of Viability through Feasibility to Sustainability. Each step is equipped with Go/No Go scenarios and we will never waste time trying to pursue an idea or product that does not match up to the rules. This assists in failing fast and not wasting time, energy and money in the process.

Actually come to think of it, there is a cheat code to business success. It is simply and email to admin@ei.co.za to book your first session. We look forward to your success.

Just last week we published our latest online course titled: ‘Sales Techniques for Effective Entrepreneurs’. This course has created such a buzz with 960 people signing up in the first 4 days. Our greatest launch to date.

The course covers aspects of selling that are not normally covered in marketing workshops. We look at how to define your product, create a scripted sales pitch based on a defines sales funnel and the sales cycle. We chat about how to ask the right questions using the right content for the right audience at the right time. The course concludes with a look at a template to use for all future marketing campaigns. All together a very comprehensive course.

With Spring just around the corner for us in the south, we are offering a chance for you to participate in this course for half price using our spring coupon. Click HERE to access the course and pay only $10 for lifetime access to all the videos, handouts and notes.

This coupon is only valid until the end of September with a limited number of places, so first click first learn. Our gift to you, Enjoy Click HERE

We are asked to introduce ourselves many times each day. This should be done in a short sharp 10-15 word sentence. Accompany this with your business card and a smile and you are already in the top 10% of people in the room.

So let’s look at the anatomy of a personal introduction. It needs to include the following information:

• Your name
• Your interest
• Your job function
• The business you work for
• Call to action

Write these out in point form and then just string them together to make a sentence. Keep it witty and easy to understand. Drop any long syllable words and technical words and it should be done.

Remember that people want to do business with people before doing business with your business, so be a person first. Be interesting and show yourself, step out from behind the business mask and be the real you.

If you are stuck with this try some of the following techniques;

• Mention your favorite sports team
• Tell people of a recent accomplishment
• Tell people about a book you are reading
• Share a good bit about your family

The more you practice this the better you will become. Practice, practice, practice, until you are confident.

So many people run what I call HOPE based marketing. They place adverts online, in the phone book or local newspapers and then sit back and hope that someone reads them and calls with an order.

If you have ever, or currently use the word “hope” in connection with your marketing, you know that you are in trouble. In fact this word should not be used in any association with running a small business. Never hope money will be paid, never hope people will read your adverts, or hope they come to an event.

Turning hope into certain confidence is key to developing a solid marketing strategy that will develop your business into the future.

So our lesson today is: take a look at your business marketing strategy and where you ‘hoping’ that things are going to work, start to change these. In our next post we will begin to discuss more productive ways to target your customers