In the area of entrepreneurship, I often seek out advice from people with more experience than me. Naturally, I give their opinions a lot of weight since being a new entrepreneur, I can’t really counter their advice with experiences of my own. A dilemma arose when I found that I was receiving conflicting advice from my ‘circle of experts’.
The topic of controversy was sales strategies. I wanted to know the best ways to generate sales for a new business. The first expert told me to use the direct mail and cold calling methods. “Sales are a pretty much a numbers game”, I was told. “You make X number of calls from which you can expect to book X number of appointments, leading to the final result: X number of contracts. Typically the conversion rate is around 10%, which can vary depending on the industry, the quality of the leads, etc.” I was eager to apply this new knowledge but doubts began to surface when I spoke to the next expert. “Forget direct mail and cold calling”, I was told. “They simply don’t work. Most people will throw it out your expensive brochure without even looking at it. The key is to develop relationships with your prospects, which takes time. In the end, they don’t care about the product being sold. The most important thing is the person behind the product.”
By the time I met with the third expert, a marketing expert, I was outright confused. “Think of something that sets your company apart. Then, think of ways to communicate that. If your company provides an ‘edge’ in language training, then you must find ways to communicate that (e.g. through seminars, newsletters, etc.). Once you do that, sales will naturally increase.” What I had on my plate was three different sets of advice from three equally qualified people. Who do I listen to?
After several days of confusion, what I realized was this: there’s no fixed formula for generating sales. Each of these experts had their distinct likes and dislikes. One could argue for hours whether one strategy is better than the next, but since each person was successful with their approach, nothing would be settled. At the end of the day, we should do what gets us results. We can experiment with different strategies and then pick and choose our favourites. The key is to generate sales and to do it consistently.
A broader lesson in all this is that even as new entrepreneurs, we should think critically about the advice we receive. What I’m realizing more and more is that in many cases, there is no right or wrong answer. As a small business owner, one has to develop the ability to think critically about the problems and accept responsibility for the final decision. If we depend too much on the opinion of ‘experts’, we run the risk of confusion. In a certain sense, we also no longer accept responsibility for the final decision. If the consequences turn out to be negative, we can always blame the ‘experts’ and their ‘flawed advice’.
Consulting with ‘experts’ is always a good thing. But take it for what it is: a consultation. Listen carefully to the advice being given but the final decision is for you and you alone to make. If it ends up being the right decision, pat yourself on the back. If not, learn from the experience and move on. Often times, there’s no right or wrong answer. It all depends…
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