When I was in my first software startup, because we were cross-industry, almost all of our sales came from strangers. In the second high-tech manufacturing startup, about 10-20% of sales came from acquaintances, and the rest came from strangers.
There is a saying in the business world: "It is better to go to great lengths to please 100 strangers than to serve an acquaintance!" ”
Ma Yun also said: "When you start a business, you will find that the first to believe in you are strangers, the first to block you are good friends, the first to delete you are wine and meat friends, and the most despised are classmates and relatives." ”
To start a business, you must do more business with strangers, so that the business can become bigger!
Why is it not recommended to do acquaintance business when starting a business, we analyze it from the perspective of human nature and empathy, and find it very interesting.
1. Acquaintances don't buy it. If the income and cognition of acquaintances are not reached, they do not buy; The acquaintance's psychology can't get over, and the acquaintance itself may be "face and heart" with the entrepreneur, or happy on the surface, envious and jealous in the heart, and can't wait for the entrepreneur's company to "close down" the next day! Acquaintances can always figure out a myriad of reasons to refuse to buy! Acquaintances know the details of the entrepreneur, and they do not hesitate to use the worst malice to speculate that the entrepreneur's products or services are not up to standard, and they are unwilling to cooperate with the entrepreneur to be a "guinea pig" ......
2. Don't dare to let acquaintances buy it. Entrepreneurs know that their products and services are not perfect; Entrepreneurs are worried that acquaintances have endless requirements for products and services, and the company cannot afford it; Entrepreneurs don't want to owe favors to acquaintances, and Chinese-style favors are the most difficult to repay; Acquaintances often have more "desires, pursuits, and expectations" for entrepreneurs and start-ups after purchasing products and services, such as arranging for their relatives, friends and family to enter the start-up company, "working freely with less money", or owning some dry shares. In order to avoid these hidden dangers, entrepreneurs directly do not let acquaintances buy them.
3. Acquaintances have limited business. Every entrepreneur's acquaintance business is very limited; Even if there are occasional acquaintances who can account for more than half of the company's performance, in the medium and long term, it is inevitable that strangers will account for the majority. Of course, if the entrepreneur only does the business of acquaintances, this is actually a "crony business", which is completely different from what we usually call "market business". It is not stated here. On average, acquaintances account for no more than 10% of the company's total performance. If it is a consumer goods or Internet business, then the acquaintance business may not account for more than 1/10,000!
Acquaintances choose to stay away from you, strangers choose to trust you!
We started a business with strangers without any psychological pressure or concerns. Sell as much as you want, and make as much money as you should. Anyway, "one is willing to fight, one is willing to suffer", two-way choice, this is a business, a kind of interest exchange! And the stranger business is endless, and the market capacity is unlimited!
How to do a good business with strangers? Experience with the following three points:
1. The product is the foundation. Determine the selling point and characteristics of the product, and the biggest difference from other products, and vividly "promote strengths and avoid weaknesses"!
2. Publicize more. Now, insist on doing a good job in short-term propaganda such as Douyin Kuaishou, plus all kinds of publicity from ** and Xin**, and fully publicize all kinds of circle of friends and WeChat groups. In particular, we will not necessarily make our circle of friends generate much sales, but it is possible for friends of various friends in our circle of friends to learn about our products and services through friends in the circle of friends, and then directly find us to cooperate. There are quite a few such customers, and many of them are VIP "big customers"!
3. * Unification. Whatever you sell, it's clearly priced. If the customer is bargaining, filter him out. Don't be afraid to run orders, if it's yours, just say yours. It's not yours, it's useless to kowtow. Once you're sure, don't get old! This kind of strategy is more suitable for startups, and it is easier to reassure strangers. The biggest worry of strangers is not that they don't take advantage, but that they are worried that others will get a cheaper **; As long as ** is treated equally, strangers are psychologically balanced, thinking that "this is what a big brand and a good brand should have!"
To sell goods, you have to find someone who knows the goods!
It's like dry wood meets fire, and it burns when you touch it!
This is an opportunity for our entrepreneurs, and it is also an era for entrepreneurs!