How to Leap from Procrastination to Motivation

RISMEDIA, Jan. 11, 2008-”Nothing matters more than selling,” says Michael Masterson, author of the new book, Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat. “Many first-time entrepreneurs have the impression that they are doing things in a logical order when they look for the perfect office space, have logos designed, and order a lot of inventory. The reality is they are wasting valuable resources on secondary and tertiary endeavors. If no one is going to buy what you want to sell, you’ve just wasted a bunch of money on a business that will never be.”

In Ready, Fire, Aim, Masterson includes the three-step process that entrepreneurs should (but often don’t) follow in order to build a successful business.

Step one: Get the product ready enough to sell, but don’t worry about perfecting it.
Step two: Sell it.
Step three: If it sells, make it better.

Sounds easy, right? Wrong! If you’re an entrepreneur reading this, you’ve probably seen the s-word enough already to make your head spin. There’s a reason people work so hard to avoid selling, and that’s because there is nothing easy about it.

“Selling can be terrifying,” admits Masterson. “It can be tough, gritty, unglamorous work. But when you make that first big sale, you realize it’s also exhilarating. And like it or not, you probably won’t become a successful entrepreneur until you can sell your product or service in your sleep.”

When your business is in its infancy, priority number one should be building up a customer base…in other words, selling. Successful entrepreneurs invest most of their time, attention, and energy in the selling process. The ratio of time, creativity, and money spent on selling as opposed to other aspects of business should be something like 80/20, with 80% of it going toward selling and only 20% toward everything else.

“As the business grows out of its infancy-as it goes beyond the million-dollar revenue mark by selling many more products through many more channels-you can let other people do most of the selling,” states Masterson. “But by establishing your marketing credentials during the first stage, when the selling secrets of your business are still unknown, you will gain a deep understanding of your business that will serve you well for the rest of your career.”

Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat (Wiley, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-470-18202-4, $27.95) is available at bookstores nationwide, major online booksellers, or direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797.

For more information, visit www.earlytorise.com.