Month: June 2020

Posted on by

Which Entrepreneur Type are you?

Entrepreneur Type

In the world of entrepreneurship, finding your area of strength goes a long way in easing your journey.  There are many means by which you can become an entrepreneur, but your strengths will lie in one of three types.  You will find that you are either a Creator, a Persuader, or a Promoter.

Creator – Entreprenuer Type

The Creator’s strength lies in the building of products, services, or systems.  They are strongest and happiest when their efforts are focused on molding the solutions to their customers’ problems.  They tend to head down and can suffer from, “If you build it, they will come” thinking.

Strong creators should partner with Persuaders or Promoters to make sure their work reaches the right customers with the right message.  This is the way that Creators can stick with their strengths and make the most of their time.

Persuader – Entrepreneur Type

Persuaders shine when communicating one to one.  They are conversationalists and storytellers, able to communicate the precise benefit that the buyer needs and that the product provides.  A Persuader uses empathy to understand the buyer and what they need.  This, along with their gift to craft their message, allows them to demonstrate to buyers that their solution meets their needs.

Strong Persuaders should strive to maintain close relationships with Creators.  A Persuader can get carried away trying to match a product’s capabilities to a buyer’s needs.  When a Persuader’s understanding of a product does not match the product’s reality, the potential for a disappointed buyer is all too likely.  The Creator can help keep the Persuader’s expectations grounded and buyers happy with the result.

Promoter – Entrepreneur Type

The Promoter imbues the product with charisma.  They are the builders of brands and campaigns that bring attention to the product and place potential buyers in contact with Persuaders.  The Promoter’s strength is exciting the right potential buyers at the right time to take action.

Promoters keep their finger on the pulse of potential buyers.  They know what buyers are asking for and what they will grab for when they see it.  They are the force that motivates buyers to the next step in the buying process and ultimately to a purchase.

They must stay informed of both internal and external realities (production capacity, market trends, etc.) so that their messages remain in harmony.  Their campaigns cannot produce dissatisfaction or their market share will shrink.

Do you know your type?

Is it obvious to you now which type of entrepreneur fits you best?  Do you know where your strengths and weaknesses lie?  If you do, you’re ready for the next step.  If not, how are you going to figure out your type?

Let me know what you’ve discovered.

Posted on by

Promote Your Product – Three Simple Techniques

Promote Your Product

Promote Your Product – Three Simple Techniques

Now that you’ve created your product on The Exchange it’s time to let the world hear about it. Let’s promote your product.

In Field of Dreams the philosophy, “If you build it, they will come” may have worked. However, in real life, the philosophy is actually, “If you build it, and tell them about it, they will come.”

So, who do you tell and what do you tell them?

Technique One – Start with Low Hanging Fruit

The first technique to promote your product is to start with the people you know that either want your product or know people that do. This technique is a hand to hand combat technique. You’re going to talk to people directly and ask them two simple questions:

  1. Hey Jane! I have a new product X. It helps with [benefit for Jane]. Would you be interested in buying one for yourself?
  2. Thanks, Jane! Do you know anyone that might be interested in buying X that I should talk to?

That’s it. Now, make a list of five people that you will call, email, or text (Social Media DM) those questions today. Repeat that for the next five days and you’ll have reached 25 people that you know. You’ll either have some good sales results, some great leads to follow up on, or some good feedback on how you can improve your product.

Technique Two – Leaving the Shallow End

Once you’ve reached out to your contacts directly it’s time to start expanding your efforts into deeper waters. The strategy here is to remain in familiar territory but do a broader outreach.

On your social media platforms that you are active on (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) post about what you’ve created and how it’s beneficial. Link back to your product on The Exchange to help people that are looking for it find it.

If you are a member of a group that has interests aligned with your product, make sure you post there and reply to any comments or questions that come up. Make sure your posts lay out the benefits your product brings to the table and don’t just rattle off a list of features.

Technique Three – Diving Deeper

This technique gets you out into the open waters where even more potential customers can find your work.

Create a demo video of your product in use and then post it to YouTube. Walkthrough how your product works and what it’s like to actually use it. Include the link to your product in your video description and make sure to describe what your product does in the description as well.

You’ll attract people that are wanting to learn how to build a product like yours and many will decide that buying your product is a better way to go.

Posted on by

New Product Checklist for Vendors

New Product Checklist

New Product Checklist

This New Product Checklist takes you through the quick and easy steps of setting up your own product on The Exchange. In five easy steps, you will build the perfect product listing for the catalog so that customers can find and purchase your product. Follow along to launch your product for sale today.

Checklist Step One: Getting Started

When you log into The Exchange after you’ve registered as a vendor, you will see this page. This is where you can get started building your catalog of products.

To begin adding a new product click the “New > Product” menu.

Product Checklist Step Two: Create a Product

You will now be on the New Product creation page.

Add a product name and product description. Next proceed to the product information section.

Make sure to check the Downloadable check box. This will display options to allow you to upload your file.

Set your price, add the file download package and set any download limits you want for your product. Everything else should be left at their default settings.

Product Checklist Step Three: New Product Categories

In the right panel, select the categories that your product belongs to.

Product Checklist Step Four: New Product Image

Products with images attract more attention and sell better than products without images. Your image should be a .png or .jpeg file measuring 1200 pixels wide by 628 pixels tall. Click the Set Product Image button to upload your image.

Product Checklist Step Five: Save and Publish your New Product

Once you have entered all of your product information, click the Save Draft link. This will store all of the information you’ve entered but keep it private until you click the Publish button. Clicking the Publish button submits your product for review.

Once it is approved it will be live on the site for purchase.