Whenever someone tries to add my on social media with something like “entrepreneur” in their title, I’m immediately wary. I know they’re going to try to sell me something.
And to be honest, most ways entrepreneurs try to sell are the wrong ways. I’ve seen these four ways are the most prevalent when it comes to entrepreneurs trying to make money. The last is the best, but it’s the least common. My hope is that you might see yourself in one of these and move to the right way if you aren’t already there.
Here are the four ways.
Lame Way: Hoping
Lots of entrepreneurs who don’t have a marketing bone in their body just hope their product will sell itself. That’s rare. Even the perfect product won’t sell if nobody knows about it or people don’t understand it. Hoping isn’t enough, and entrepreneurs can’t survive on that sense.
Wrong Way: Manipulation
Entrepreneurs who manipulate either have a product people don’t actually need, or they’ve given up one trying to sell it the right way. So they’re dishonest about the benefits of the product. Or they use things like click-bait hoping it will turn into a sale. This way might work in the short term, but you ultimately screw yourself over. You won’t get long-term results from manipulating people.
All-too-Common Way: Brute Force
The biggest way people try to make money with a product is to simply blast the same people with the same message over and over. They reach their 400 friends and post 5 things about their product each day. They hope that enough repetitions of their message will turn into a sale. But there’s a good chance people aren’t buying it because they don’t need what you’re offering. And no amount of brute-force marketing will change that. It’ll just lose what little influence you still have.
Right Way: Establishing Trust
Establishing trust is the absolute best way to make money as an entrepreneur. Investing in others or being consistent with excellent quality…it works. When you have a strong trust element, people pretty much throw money at you. Combine trust with a great product and a little bit of awareness, and you’re going to be a successful entrepreneur.
Marketing has gained a negative reputation, because most people approach marketing the first three ways. That’s not good marketing. It’s just bad business. But the entrepreneur who can establish trust and use that to their advantage will have no problem succeeding in this world.