Pitch Perfect
BY LAYLA SCHLACK
Growing a $100 million business is possible if you know how to sell, sell, SELL!
Starting your own business — following your own ideas, setting your own rules, making your own hours—sounds like a dream. Michael Masterson thinks so. He has started multimillion-dollar businesses in everything from art sales to sports and fitness to publishing, which is his main focus. And in his latest book, Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat, he says that anyone can start a business.
Just practice your pitch.
PLANT THE SEED
It all starts with an idea. “If it’s a good idea, somebody’s already thought of it—you can be pretty sure of that,” he says. “You come up with an application of that commonly shared new idea, some special application which catches fire, which can be sold well. That’s the secret.”
The next step, however, may not be what you think it is. It’s not a mission statement or letterhead. It’s selling. Test the waters to see if your product or service can be sold. If the result is mediocre, it may take more than a few tweaks to make it work. Abandon ship and wait until the market is ready.
SPREAD THE WORD
“Th e first and most important thing you need to do… is figure out how you’re going to actually sell your services,” Masterson says.
Using the example of a catering business—a service-oriented enterprise with low startup costs— Masterson says to start local. Get your name out to wedding planners, try to get contact lists from bridal shops, or post ads in local newspapers and websites. See what kind of response you get. “Figure out how you’re going to bring on clients at a cost you can absorb,” Masterson advises.
MAKE THE PITCH
Let potential clients know how much value they are going to get out of your service. They will be looking at the bottom line, so it’s crucial to give them a low price, while showing them you’re worth more.
“Only after that do you get to the copy part of the marketing,” he says. “And that’s where you test diff erent ideas about what might be attractive to people.”
In the catering example, once you establish that you serve high-quality food at a fair price and are able to handle your customers’ requests in a polite and organized fashion, you can establish a style, such as high-end, family-friendly or health-conscious. Only then can you charge more, because you’ve picked an audience and shown them that your product is the best value for their needs.
Finding the right audience may seem a little counter to the sell, sell, sell model. Masterson advises spending money trying to collect clients in your target market, even if you have to tell prospective clients you can’t handle their request once the market has responded. You will have seen who is responding and if you are targeting the right market.
WATCH FOR SPEED BUMPS
When you are starting out, the demand for your product or service may be small, so you can meet it. Masterson says even at this stage, it’s not difficult to build your business to $1 million. Using the catering example, you could reach the million-dollar mark doing high-end weddings alone, but where do you go from there?
“You’re going to create more promotions and more products… You have to hire other people that are like you, that can put on another kind of show,” he says.
Start catering bar mitzvahs and bachelor parties. Find new media in which to advertise.
Sell your new products just as hard as you did your first one. That’s the key to growing from $1 million to $10 million in three or four years. But, Masterson warns, “Things can get chaotic.” Customer service can suff er. Your growth will slow for a little while.
FIND THE RIGHT CAST
“Finding superstars is critical to the success of any business,” Masterson says. “How do you find a superstar? It’s like falling in love with somebody. Superstars stand out immediately. Th ey’re smarter. Th ey have more energy. They have more enthusiasm. Th ey get you right away. Th ey understand what you want, and they’re going to support you.”
But you also need to be prepared for heartache. Like falling in love, someone you think is a superstar may actually not be the one. Find applicants you can get excited about, and try them out before enlisting them to manage your growing business. Then nurture your new stars and let them grow.
Masterson values loyalty, too. If someone who has been with you from the beginning stops being effective in their position, try to find something else for them to do. Th is will make all parties happy. With good people at the helm, and a clear idea of new products that complement your initial idea, there’s no stopping you.
JOIN THE BIG LEAGUES
As the company gets bigger—growing from $10 million to $100 million—it means letting go of the reins a little. “You need to bring in lawyers, professional managers, people with actual MBAs,” Masterson says. “Up until now, you may have not wanted to work with any of those people because they’re slowing you down and you didn’t really need to… Th e business changes again.”
But as long as you follow the market and keep selling, you have a shot at growing your business to $100 million.
MEET THE MASTERSON
Don’t be fooled by his all-about-the-sale attitude. Michael Masterson is a former Peace Corps volunteer, interested in mental health as much as fiscal health. His latest venture and quasi-retirement project Early to Rise (www.earlytorise.com) advises on everything from nutritious eating to investing wisely. The self-described Renaissance man says he has about six business books left in him, after which he will focus on writing fiction, a lifelong interest. He’s managed to turn another passion— art—into a business, too.
The lesson? A holistic approach won’t hamper your success; it may actually make you happier.
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