Getting your first sale and clients for your business can be SO hard. Like, next level hard. Like, going to the moon would be easier at this point. The beginning of your business can feel like pushing a boulder uphill. And the absolute hardest part… weeding through all of the blog posts, freebies, and courses that are constantly being thrown at you at all times.
I totally get it. I’ve been there. I get the frustration of wanting to know HOW to get more clients and sales but nothing is working. You know that feeling when you walk into a room and it seems like EVERYONE knows something and you don’t and they’re all kind of looking at you, and then looking away and snickering? Thats how I felt at the beginning of my business trying to get my first sale. I felt like every time I paid for a course from a “guru” I wasn’t anymore equipped than I was before hand. I just pictured them almost laughing at me behind my back saying, I’m going to tell her just enough so she’ll be back. We’ve got her now. Hook line and sinker.
To be fair, this was more than likely NOT the mentality of most of the people that I bought courses from, and more my mental image and being a little bitter I spent so much money to be right back at square one. But nevertheless, I was ready to chop off my right arm if someone would actually tell me what I needed to do! (ok that got morbid and dramatic 😆 but seriously it was this intense) I finally got to the point where I just had to put my wallet away, hunker down, and figure it out. Even if It was the slow way. I finally took the advice that seemed so cliche, Slow down to speed up. The thought of going slow was so offensive to me. Partially because the reason I wanted “success” fast was so people could see my worth as a business owner which is another blog post entirely! We’ll get to that but for now let’s start at the very beginning.
In this blog post, I’m sharing with you where to start that will actually bring you your first sales and clients. I’m going to share what you can do NOW just as you are, and I’ll be showing you WHERE to prioritize your marketing efforts. I’ll be covering:
- Where you should be marketing your business for SALES
- How to start using social media for your business
- What you should be prioritizing as the business owner
- What I wish I would have known before spending my savings
1.) Where you should be marketing your business for sales
This first step is simple, but not exactly easy. Meaning there is a little bit of a learning curve and upkeep but it is so worth it.
In the beginning of my business, I made THE mistake that so many online entrepreneurs make. I took to social media first. Before anyone knew that I existed. Not realizing that this is the backwards way. I spent about a year posting to instagram, my personal facebook, and sometimes tik tok to try and grow my following so I could make some sales. I even had the expectation that if I just started posting, I’d have more sales than I could handle. This is simply not how it works. There are a few reasons this wasn’t effective and you can read more about that HERE.
I was posting and buying courses, posting some more and buying courses…and not getting the first sale in my business. I thought I must not be cut out for this if its been a year and it’s still not working. If you’re also in the place of defeat with your business, this check out this post: The 1 thing keeping you from making sales in your business.
I felt so defeated by not having the sales I wanted, I had about given up when a mentor of mine had challenged me to try one last thing before I threw in the towel. To try and clear my mind of everything I had “learned” and go back to the drawing board on my own. I then decided I was going to start blogging and marketing my blog using Pinterest. I started to get in a groove with blogging and saw really good activity on Pinterest. I then took a few Pinterest marketing classes and started managing other business owners Pinterest accounts. When I saw the insights from very normal people using Pinterest for their businesses, I knew this is where I was supposed to be. Helping other business owners stop wasting their time and money in their businesses is the mission that lights me up!
So, where do I think you should be marketing your business? The answer is absolutely Pinterest !
Pinterest is a SEO platform. It’s basically a search engine, that is now getting some social media capabilities. Which is so awesome in my opinion. It’s like the best of both worlds!
Pinterest is perfect for finding the audience that is right for you. With over 459 million active users, your community is waiting for you to find them. When I saw that number for the first time I was floored! Thats a ton of people already looking to learn about a particular topic. looking to be helped with something. The person to help them might as well be YOU!
Pinterest is very different than the typical social media platform because people are actively searching for specific information in the form of LONG FORM content. Not only small little clips. You are able to give your community that is finding you so much more value faster. If you optimize your profile correctly and use keywords well, your business will thrive.
The cons of using Pinterest are few but they are worth mentioning:
- There is a learning curve to using this platform for your business, you can either be committed for some time to learn something totally new or hire a Pinterest manager to do it for you.
*If you want to know more about Pinterest management and if it’s right for you, check out THIS POST.
- You need to strategize a little to get the most out of the content you will be posting
*If learning business strategy has been like learning Greek to you, check out THIS POST.
- Consistency for a longer period of time is super important on Pinterest.
*If you have a lot on your plate already and creating and posting quite a bit of content a day is overwhelming to you, hiring a Pinterest manager to do this for you is a very worthy investment. Check out THIS POST for how to make investments in your business with ZERO regret.
- It does take some time to see sustained results. 3-6 months is usually the sweet spot for seeing some sustained growth in your analytics, and if you’re brand new to making sales pages and writing sales copy then 6-12 months is going to be when you start to see some changes.
*The way I look at this is… pretty much everything in your business takes time and consistency. Pinterest, Google SEO, Paid ads, and especially social media. I would rather be sure to get in front of the right people and sustain that for 6 months to see really good business growth than post a reel/ tik tok everyday for 90 days to figure out my content won’t convert and start over. At least with Pinterest you can pin point where it is you need to improve and put it into effect immediately.
2.) How to start using social media for your business
Ok, I know I spent the last section telling you why social media didn’t work well for me in the beginning of my business. But let me be super clear here. You can use social media as apart of your sales funnel, but it’s not where it should begins or ends. Which is the biggest mistake most business owners make when trying to market their business online. The way you START a business is very different than how you SCALE a business.
If done properly social media can be a tool that you can use in your sales funnel that can help your business.
I don’t want to jump to the extreme of saying social media doesn’t have a place in marketing your business, because it clearly does. As business owners, we can’t avoid consumer trends.
It is absolutely a fact that nearly 40% of Gen Z prefers tik tok as a search engine over google and I’m sure that number is bound to rise.
Does this mean we throw out all other proven business marketing strategies and close up shop to head over to tik tok and use tik tok alone? Or even tik tok and instagram? Absolutely not. Social media platforms might be being utilized often but the more people that flock there, the harder it is for your content to be seen. Another downside to social media is, it’s very distracting. Users open the app for one thing and stay on it for another. It’s still not common behavior yet to go onto social media with credit card in hand ready to buy like it is on Pinterest or just plain google.
And I DO say yet because I believe that one day we might be there. But not today.
If you want to utilize social media for your business try out a sales funnel like this:
- Make a blog post
- Pin it to Pinterest
- Lead them to instagram from that blog post
- Connect with them, nurture them, and serve them with a ton of value in your stories
- Send them to a FREEBIE (link in bio)
- Send them an automated email campaign
- Sell them your offer in an email campaign
This is just one sales funnel example that works in some cases for some businesses. However, there are other businesses that do well converting the sale straight from Pinterest or a mix of both. It all just depends on your personal business plan and your offers.
*If you are super new to your business and are feeling stuck when it comes to business plans check out THIS POST: 5 steps to finding the perfect business plan
3.) What you should be prioritizing as the business owner
This might be seem of obvious BUT as the owner of your business you should be prioritizing sales. I say this because for me, when I was in the trenches of starting my business, I was knee deep in the weeds of information. I really wasn’t prioritizing sales, I just didn’t realize it.
I really thought I was. I thought everything I was doing was most definitely an income producing activity.
With every reel that I did I thought, this is the one that goes viral AND THEN my sales will come. I was NOT putting my energy where it mattered. My blog was the thing that actually had the capability to generate sales. Why did I veer away from the very place people could be linked right to my offer or website? The simple answer is I just had to learn to listen to my gut, and build confidence around my ability to sell. Thats really it.
I needed to build self belief, but this is the step that was so tempting to skip. I needed to know that I am the perfect person for my business and no one else. I know best. I should have been working everyday on this belief so that when thoughts of self doubt arose, I would be unwavering. It was when I looked to others for validation in my business that things got seriously derailed.
* I would go as far to say that personal development habits or however you are going to practice self belief daily is the most important thing you can do for your business. Even above learning how to get sales, generate leads, marketing, and all of that stuff.
Because if you don’t have your own back when difficult things come up, or someone else’s belief in you wavers you KNOW you are where you’re supposed to be. This may be hiring a business coach, doing daily affirmations, getting in a chat group of other business owners, WHATEVER it is make it a number one priority and you won’t ever regret it.
You can read about my favorite personal development tools here in this post.
4.) What I wish I would’ve known BEFORE spending my savings
There were truly only 3 things I needed to invest in at the start of my business.
- Developing belief in myself
- Registering my business
- A domain name
Thats honestly it! I could have made my first few sales with that. Of course I didn’t do that, and I waaayy over complicated things.
I truly believe though, that nothing is ever truly wasted. Theres always something to learn. Even though it most definitely feels like a waste at the time. I learned so much from those overspending mistakes and I truly believe it’s made me a better business coach/ business owner.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend those mistakes though and would definitely advise you to start with those 3 things, and keep your business SIMPLE.
If you’re ever wondering if you are getting a little off track, OR
you want to know if you are considering the right investment go through this little checklist:
- Are you being sold on a quick success method?
- Does this investment have potential for a return?
- Is this investment helping you learn a new skill that your business needs?
If someone is offering you a lot of money fast, it’s more than likely a scam. If It is a method that has worked quickly for someone there’s no guarantee that is duplicatable and is not the norm so just keep that in mind.
If the investment doesn’t have the potential for a direct return you might not want to invest if you’re just starting or tight on startup cash. You want to make sure what you are investing in results in money in your pocket at some point. For example:
-Paying to register your business and domain name means you can get a website up and running with a blog and affiliate offer capabilities which bring you revenue, and a landing page where people can sign up for your services/emails where you can convert them to clients or customers.
– Hiring a business coach can save you time and money by helping you decide where those resources are better spent.
And lastly, are you investing in a new skill that is relevant to your business, and necessary for business growth?
-If you’re a coach do you know how to host a client call and get them booked?
-If you’re in Network Marketing, have you invested in learning how and where to sell?
-If you have a product have you invested in how to successfully market your product OR hire someone who can?
You see where I’m going now? You just have to get in the habit of going through this little checklist when you are considering investing.
In closing…
Owning your own business is super rewarding and once you get bitten with the entrepreneurial bug there’s no going back. You’re a business owner now and it’s a beautiful thing! Learning how to properly market your business will NEVER be a waste of your time or dollars. It’s the ONE sure thing to bring you revenue in your business. Not to mention, when you get this right you feel the biggest sense of accomplishment. Because at the end of the day you are helping people and when you’re helping people it makes it easier and easier to bring them value and lead them to your offers.
I truly want you to experience freedom in your business. There really is nothing like it. I mean after all, to do what you love, get paid for it, AND having time for those you love IS living the dream right!? If you’re ready to ditch the online marketing drama in your business I urge you to book a call with me HERE and from there you can decide what your business is needing right now. Do you need someone to take your online marketing off of your plate? Or maybe you are needing a business coach to guide you through some upcoming decisions. Either way, i’m here to help!
Click here to book a free call
Related Posts:
- How to invest in your business for growth with ZERO regrets
- 3 reasons you aren’t seeing sales from social media
- The 1 thing keeping you from making more sales in your business
- Pinterest for beginners
- How to use short form video in your business