It doesn’t take long in the world of business ownership to spot a bunch of business lies perpetuated on us by the very “gurus” supposedly trying to help us grow and profit.
If you’ve been with me for any period of time, you know that I’m a student of nature, life, people. Sure, I’ve had– and continue to invest in –consulting and business education, but my BEST strategies have come from watching and learning, which brings me to this blog post.
For roughly two years now, I’ve been part of an online group that is free to join. I was even asked at one point to be an angel investor in taking this free online group and making it a paid online group. (???) Either way, the group stayed free and was to be a non-commercial gathering for a particular industry. I asked the founder repeatedly about his purpose. In other words, what was in it for him?
Now, whenever someone approaches business without admitting commercial purposes, I’m suspicious. I know better. But, I watched.
In the past month, this free, non-commercial gathering of professionals has turned into a pitch fest for its founder. (Keep in mind, anyone else pitching was immediately deleted.)
Please know that I do not resent the pitch. It should have been there all along.
You see, the founder’s REAL hope when this group was started was that he would “build it” and his clients would “come.” And they did. But, what he didn’t realize was that just “building a tribe” wasn’t good enough. People LOVED the group. They contributed, invited others, posted comments and responses. But, even though he was clearly the leader, the “expert,” the guru, it didn’t lead them to pay him any money. He had to develop a sales pitch and process for that.
Regardless of your industry, the same is true for you. So, keep this in mind when you’re buying advertising, spending time on social media, paying for help in building your OWN tribe. =)
YES, you’ve got to create a “hub” for your ideal market.
YES, you’ve got to get them to gather or visit under your umbrella.
BUT, you’ve also got to choreograph a sales strategy to turn these visitors, connections, “tribe members” into paying clients.
Truth: Build it, and they MIGHT come. But you’ll have to go a step further in order to make any money.
