One of the biggest challenges that large corporations have selling into the SMB market is that they do not have a sales force that understands what it is like to be an entrepreneur. I have discussed on a number of occasions in this blog the benefits of hiring sales staff who have either run their own businesses in the past or have been involved in some way in the SMB community. Entrepreneurs are very much relationship oriented buyers and appreciate someone who understands their problems.
So what can you do if you want to get a better handle on what entrepreneurs are thinking about? Join a few entrepreneur forums. Many business owners turn online when they have a question they are looking for an answer to and join an online community.
In our own Entrepreneur Forums, for example, we cover topics from starting up a new business to sales and marketing to franchising to women entrepreneurs. With 11 different categories there is something for everyone here.
Browsing around the forums will give you a sense of the hot topics for entrepreneurs today. Some of our popular topics include: Facebook: $3,200 in new revenue, Blogging For Promotion,
and Finding Good People.
By better understanding what small business owners care about you can better target your pitch to them to maximize the chance of closing the sale.
Note: There can often be a strong desire to sign up for an account and promote yourself in these types of forums. This is typically frowned upon by the entrepreneur community. You should be there to ask questions or propose solutions - not to promote yourself. Self-promotional forum campaigns often backfire and will generate negative opinions of your firm.
Evan Carmichael
So what can you do if you want to get a better handle on what entrepreneurs are thinking about? Join a few entrepreneur forums. Many business owners turn online when they have a question they are looking for an answer to and join an online community.
In our own Entrepreneur Forums, for example, we cover topics from starting up a new business to sales and marketing to franchising to women entrepreneurs. With 11 different categories there is something for everyone here.
Browsing around the forums will give you a sense of the hot topics for entrepreneurs today. Some of our popular topics include: Facebook: $3,200 in new revenue, Blogging For Promotion,
and Finding Good People.
By better understanding what small business owners care about you can better target your pitch to them to maximize the chance of closing the sale.
Note: There can often be a strong desire to sign up for an account and promote yourself in these types of forums. This is typically frowned upon by the entrepreneur community. You should be there to ask questions or propose solutions - not to promote yourself. Self-promotional forum campaigns often backfire and will generate negative opinions of your firm.
Evan Carmichael
Labels: entrepreneur forums, Evan Carmichael, SMB market
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