A guide on how to gain fast traction with minimal funding (Part 2)

Market Analysis

Before diving headfirst into the water, an entrepreneur needs to do proper due diligence on the market.

The fact of the matter is, statistics have shown that the collapse of most startups is due to the lack of market needs. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, there are two ways where businesses could enter any given market; through creative innovation of new products or services, or by addressing an immediate surge in demand. The latter would be the best strategy to choose during these trying times.?

Further to that, by using business intelligence as an analysis tool, the market & product placement could be re-positioned over time to fit perfectly with the enterprise’s unique selling proposition (USP). This process is vital to ensure the business is adapting organically with changes in market demand; shifting from reactive (viral & surge) to proactive (evergreen & evolving) market approach.?

Moreover, startups with limited funding should take advantage of zero-cost statistical census such as from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Sales

Sales are to businesses, like oxygen is to a living soul.

The lack of it will suffocate; the absence will ensure we cease to live. Sales also equate to revenue, and revenue covers expenses. Therefore, the ability of a business to have a positive revenue creates a more stable operation; facilitating growth opportunities.?

So how does the new kid on the block attained immediate sales to overcome its expenditures? One of the tricks lies within our mobile phone. An average person has between 500 to 2,000 contacts in his mobile device.

The key here is to leverage these contacts by screening & segregating them into two distinct categories:

1. Those who could lead to new business opportunities.
2. Those who can become immediate customers.

The first category involves mining for affable business owners, entrepreneurs, and influencers whom we had built a rapport. These are the folks who could offer us relevant collaborative-work on a win-win basis.?

Here the underpinning advantage is the established trust & credibility affirmation they have on us. In a business tactical sense, being in this position enables us to propose beneficial payment terms and also facilitate any form of negotiations.?

The second group entails sieving for warm contacts who coincide with our market segment.?

Besides, they must also have the 3D buyer criteria; Dollar (have the monetary mean), Decision (the decision-maker) & Date Line (have the urgency to buy). These requisites are vital to warrant immediate sales conversion without wasting time on non-qualified prospects. And of course, both categories are interchangeable & one could occupy both roles concurrently.

Cash Flow Management

The last part a new business should put a major focus on is cash flow management.

This is yet another make or breaks competency; a must-have for every entrepreneur. Although there are many schools of thought & discipline in managing liquidity, here we shall take a simpler approach of tactical & strategical segregation.?

The word tactical means short-term & action-based initiatives. In managing funds, this relates to deploying prudent spending on core activities such as sales, marketing, operation, and hiring. Optimum expenses can be achieved by attaining quality sales lead to lessen resources spent in prospecting, targeted marketing within predefined demographics, efficient workflow & well-defined SOPs to reduce lost-time and work delegation to external freelancers or contractual staff during the initial startup phase. These remedies are not exhaustive in the context of tactical optimization.?

On the other hand, the strategical approach takes the long haul standpoint. It revolves around the principle of reinvesting revenue into the company, specifically to mobilize long-term efforts to improve the capacity & capability of the enterprise and its talents. It takes the form of long-term brand shaping to foster customer loyalty and continuous learning of the six core business branches via self-education or coaching. Moreover, it advocates building gradual cash reserve over time; appropriate for use future scale-up or in times of emergency.?

FG101 | Educating Entrepreneurs???

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Lukman is the founder & principal coach of Financial Goals 101 Consultancy, an entity that focuses on delivering personalised coaching programs for SMEs & solopreneurs to help them reach their full business potential faster & with fewer errors. Over the past decade, he has generated over RM60 million in sales revenue for both local and international companies; adding value in anchoring marketing & sales strategies coaching.