Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I once knew a woman who, after five years of scraping by, decided “It’s not me. There’s no market for what I do.”

She did sales training and consulting. Guess somebody had better tell - among many others - Jeffrey Gitomer there’s no market for his services (and make him give back all those millions he’s made.)

It’s always an uphill slog to start a new business, of any kind. But, you should also be honest with yourself.

If, after - say - three years, you’re not seeing at least a glimmer of green, it’s time to start looking at other opportunities, at which you can succeed. Do this before you’re down to the last desperate crumbs in your bank account, or you’ll be making panic-stricken, bad decisions.

Here are five “Yellow Light” points for you.

1. Are you constantly following up on the same small list of “hot deals” over months…and they never return your calls? After about three tries, you’re not being professional, you’re being annoying…and looking increasingly desperate. (Your emails and voice mails are probably being deleted unread and unheard anyway.) Sure, your contact may be friendly when you actually corral him or her…but they also may not be the decision maker…or because they do like you, they just can’t bring themselves to tell you no. Move on to another deal that you can close. If you can’t close those…then prepare to stop.

2. Do you repeatedly talk to people who are terrific referral sources and who seem to really like you…then never send you any referrals? Liking you isn’t the same as trusting you with their client or customer base. If, after about the fifth warm and fuzzy lunch, you’re still not seeing any possibilities, prepare to stop. (Even if they are buying. You can’t live on free lunches.)

3. Are you getting an increasing amount of repeat business? No repeat business? Ask yourself why - better yet, ask them. If your client or customer base largely consists of small, one-time projects, with no sign of moving up the food chain…prepare to stop. You’re spending big-dollar time trying to land small-change deals.

4. Are you able to keep at least six months living expenses in the bank? No? Then start preparing to stop, before you’re down to zero.

5. Do you have money in the “wild idea” fund? Or, are you constantly passing up cool new biz (and life) opportunities because you can’t afford them?(My own rule is “If a thousand bucks one way or another is going to ruin my month, it’s time to get a real job.” If you’ve got a family, this number should be higher.)

Take risks. Have fun. But, remember that the bank doesn’t take “I’m having fun!” for your mortgage payment.

As Peter Drucker noted, “Most of the people who persist in the wilderness leave nothing behind but bleached bones.”

Related Article: Look Backward, Think Forward: Assessing Markets (takes you to the New Mexico Business Weekly web site for my article first published in 2005, still valid.)

Related Posts:
My Best Advice to Start-Ups: Don’t Start.
The Magic Cookie Jar (It does, eventually, all come down to money.)
Feeling GOOD About Failure!
“How Do I Become A Consultant?”
Start-Up Success: What Do You Wanta Be When You Grow Up?
Can You Learn To Be An Entrepreneur?

P.S. I recommend Gitomer’s books - they’re all basically the same book in different formats - but that makes them easy and fun to read…and all are a good whack-in-the-head, common sense advice.

Think you might need one of my entrepreneur sanity checks? You can start by downloading the one-page PDF, Entrepreneur Sanity Checklist - 15 of the questions I typically ask in my Entrepreneur Sanity Check consultations. Everybody and every idea is different, but the basics remain the same.

I also do Sanity Checks via phone. Drop me a line if you’d like to know more. I won’t abuse your email address. No “special deal” or “limited time offers” junk. You’re not a “lead’ - you’re a person with a question.

Tags: entrepreneur success, entrepreneurship, entrepreneur sanity check, start-up success, market assessment