I handed in a proposal to a prospect yesterday – they are in the loan industry, an industry which I have one current client. I like creating marketing campaigns for business clients in the loan industry – and I know that specialising is the way to go, but I can’t help but feel such separation anxiety when it comes to actually getting down to it and specialising because I get so distracted by other niches such as fashion wholesale, beauty, & the baby product industry, but I know it’s very important to specialise.
Is it important to put separation anxiety aside when specialising?
Just putting the finishing touches on a proposal but I have taken a little break and found great visual inspiration for offices. One day, one day. Below is the office of the design head at General Motors, the American car company based in Detroit, a city in the US.
I had a phone conference earlier this week with a prospect that I wanted to land.They want to meet face to face which means this could be an account that will go back and forth for a while if they do like my ideas and decide to go ahead with me. If they don’t want to go ahead with me, then it means the proposal is not accepted and they don’t like my ideas.
I did a call for action, ie if I could send them a marketing proposal, and they emailed me again yesterday to ask about when the proposal was going to be sent. In my phone conference chat with them, I did not specify when I was going to send it in hindsight, I should have specified the date of when I would send it but I hope this is minor mistake. I emailed them back todayto say that I would send it early next week* because I want to ensure that my ideas are sizzling for them and I don’t want to deliver a shit proposal.
Creating proposals is full of pressure and it can be extremely difficult because when a prospect acts for a proposal, they don’t want a cookie-cutter template that you would send someone else – they want to know that you care about their business and what they are truly about. That said, prospects who want to see proposals are prospects who are unsure of what they are so it is important for the proposals to make sense without being too specific or overwhelming them.
I want to impress this prospect – and I know I need to step it up because they should not be emailing me to ask when the proposal is coming. We spoke on Thursday and they emailed on Saturday, we live in an instant Nescafe world where people want things now and it is crucial to have quality control while still delivering quality work as soon as the prospect/client wants it.
Shoes are an addiction for me. The way your toes can look as round as the moon in a pair of heels is not matched by other types of shoes. The following shoes I have picked scream sex appeal and high-heeled luxury for businesswomen or women who want that power business look for their downtime.
[1] Guiseppe Zanotti Summertime Heels (watch the video below)
This morning, I was telling Laura, my friend, that I had a dream last night which involved me travelling to New York/USA for the sole reason of trying to meet Oprah Winfrey so I could ask her a few questions about my business. We both laughed between us that it was a tad stalker-ish yet I had mentioned to her that Oprah was definitely my business role model.
Contacting business role models is something that lots of people do (or at least I think they do). Laura remarked that the Oprahs of this world must get so much fanmail and people wanting to spend time with them, and I added this is probably because of the halo effect which I think is understandable but not entirely sincere. I have so many questions in my head for her, that’d I’d like to ask her about business and building a company but naturally she is a very busy and successful woman.
I think if anyone is planning on doing this, you need to have your shit together because their time is money (pounds, dollars and shillings!).
Would you contact your business role model or would you be too scared?
I remember M.I.A from my university days when her first album, Arular, dropped. She came to my first university and did a set which is know almost 5+ years ago. I just knew that I was going to be hearing about her again because she had the X Factor from the moment she stepped on the stage. I have followed her career on and off since Arular and Kala, which is my favourite album of hers. Now her appearance on the US Superbowl and her new video have inspired a lot of harsh criticism – she is 36, I am sure she can handle it – but it made me think, why are societies across the world frightened of a woman who speaks her mind?
‘You want me to be somebody who I’m really not’
In her song XXXO from her third album, /\/\ /\ Y /\, she sings about how someone wants her to be someone she is really not. This really applies to women who are ballsy, aggressive and are fortified in life, and especially in business. I think society expects women not to be aggressive and going to get what they want. When a man goes out there and closes on a deal, he is a killer, a wolf, handling business. If a woman tries to show the same kind of concentrated aggression in business, (some) people get intimidated by this.
I don’t think women in business should try and be like men – we should just use the focus required to succeed in the same way without worrying about gender labels. We are separate and equal: the analysis advantages women have can be used in business to qualify leads for cold calling and writing proposals to increase sales. In developing countries though such as Tanzania, I believe people do not take businesswomen seriously when it comes to closing deals. This sounds like a massive generalisation but it is one that I think is true, most male business owners here want to close deals with men – imagine a focused woman turning up to a deal signing – it’s like someone has crashed the party – and this is the impression that I get in my trials & tribulations to be taken seriously here.
Excess Sex Oh: A case study
The other day, I was at a family wedding event and Laura, my friend from London and I were waiting in the car park. I was joking around and messing with her. A military guard came over and tried to assert his brand of masculinity on me barking orders at us to leave the car park immediately, that he could see we were having a ”party” in the car park (we were standing joking + laughing). He was incredibly rude and authoritative in such an inappropriate way – we are civilians, this was not the army barracks and it was a wedding event. I let him know in no uncertain terms that he could not speak to me like that and if he wanted to get his point across, he did not have to be rude because I was not going to accept that.
It put me in a foul mood but then it reminded me of the consistent bullying that occurs against women here by some men. If you show a hint of strength or aggression in standing up for yourself, you are going to be put in your place whether you like it or not, that is the impression I got from others. This is why I think M.I.A’s song XXXO makes total sense to me – women are accepted for sex and whether that is in excess terms, that’s great but once you are seen as someone who is going to stand up for themselves, the male-oriented society of Tanzania wants to remind me that I am not as important.
‘If you like what you see, you can download install’
Ultimately, going out there and getting what you want is the only way to build a successful life where you call the shots. Since I have been living in Tanzania now for almost 2 years, I always think every day about how I want to be the one who is controlling my own life. M.I.A chants that you can download/install if you like what you see in her electro-pop track: this applies to women who are trying to do their own thing. If people like what you symbolises, they can download what you are about, if clients like the products and services you are offering, they are paying to install them into their business. If your family does not support what you are about or the society at large does not want you to be the woman you are, tell them you love them with XOXO.
Just opened an email from a prospect that I emailed with a pitch to do their marketing.
A ”no” it is. I must admit, it took me a few days to open the email just because I get so worked up about hearing back which is an oxymoron because you have to hear back in order to ace a job. The past few weeks have been filled with many nos and I have been trying to be persistent, so it is a bit disappointing.
However, this is indicative of a few things:
*I am contacting the wrong people
*I need to keep contacting more people because rejection does not necessarily mean what I am doing is wrong
*I need to consistently look for new business every day
For the past few weeks, I have been prospecting every day which in itself is brutal and soul-crushing. Hats off to people who are doing this on the phone every day this month, I need to get back on using the phone, but it truly is tough work, which is why I am going to need epic treats such as moving out, getting a Chanel bag and reaching my million challenge goal.
Marketing is my industry, and one of the hottest topics at the moment is specialising. I have assembled a list of niches & markets that I think entrepreneurs or small business executives could exploit in terms of starting a business. I am no expert, just a young woman working on my small business but here are markets which I am interested in terms of looking for business:
Accountancy (contact accountants and financial advisors)
Wealth management
Asset management
Foreign exchange
Hedge funds
Investment banks
Who can try and sell to these 17 niches?
Graphic designers: Financial services companies are based on image, exclusivity and bloody hell, you need to get your customers to *trust* you with money. Graphic designs can create glossy brochures, design websites for companies, and logos for these companies who need to stay relevant.
Advertising agencies: Can create slick campaigns for investment banks who need to get society at large to *trust* them again. Agencies can look to create campaigns through print posters and web micro-sites. Slogans always are a good bet too.
Marketing & PR professionals: I naturally have to include this sector. I think marketing professionals would benefit from looking at which of these niches has to actively sell products or services – the loans industry is a good one to look at because essentially mortgages and personal loans are ”sold” to customers for a ”price” which is interest. I think marketing professionals can look to financial services niches that are selling their products for a premium price and look to engage these companies in conversations about how to get more people to buy into the price.
Bear in mind, anyone whether you are creating a catering company or a waste management company would look into these niches.
Are you starting your own business? Do these niches appeal to you?
The Queen got a 41 gun military gun salute in Hyde Park this week to mark 60 years sitting on the gilded UK throne.
I think King Bey would enjoy a military gun salute her damn self! She’s back after giving birth! I love this royal blue ring (sapphire maybe?) that she is wearing.
Would it be appropriate to wear to a business meeting or work or is it too gaudy? I love it!
