Feel Like You Need to Make More Sales? Here’s the First Step.

As a business owner, it's natural to want to increase your sales. I can understand from my own early entrepreneurial days what it feels like to want more customers more than anything else.

However, simply adding “make more sales” to your to-do list isn’t going to grow your business. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs immediately jump into the “how” before they’ve fully tackled the “who”. The “who” is your initial target audience, your first customers. These people will be some of the most important influences in shaping your business and determining your future growth.

To determine who your first customers should be, ask yourself this question:

"If you only needed 10 customers, ever, for your business to survive, and you know you're going to spend a lot of time with these 10 people, who do you want those 10 people to be?"

These customers should be individuals who you like, understand, and with whom you can build a strong relationship. Starting with this small group of loyal customers will help you build a solid foundation for your business.

Here's an example from a recent conversation I had with a business owner:

We were discussing her sales and marketing strategy, specifically how she wanted to target her ideal customers. Initially, she believed that her target market should be people attending big sports games, which appeared to be a good fit on paper. However, there was one crucial piece of the puzzle missing: she didn't really relate to these potential customers. While people attending sports games might be great for her 1000th customer, the truth is that when you're building a business, your first customers are the ones you spend a lot of time with. Therefore, it's important to like and understand them. And it turned out, this business owner LOVES music festivals and found that targeting festival-goers would be a much better fit for her interests and her brand.

Remember, your first customers won't necessarily be the same as your 1000th customer. However, by focusing on who these individuals are and building a strong relationship with them, you can set yourself up for long-term success. You will also be able to learn more about the type of customers you want to attract and how to market to them effectively. By investing time and effort in your first customers, you will be able to build a loyal customer base that can help you intentionally grow and expand your business faster.