These BLOGS are sponsored by my businesses.
“Misty Hollow Carving” was
launched in October 2008
Misty Hollow Digital Images were
launched on September 26, 2012.
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Murray Lincoln’s approach to
the Northumberland CFDC presentation – “Breaking through Sales Barriers”
So you are thinking of starting
a business? Hmmm? What could I do to help you launch and then
start to grow the business? These
thoughts rolled around in me as I set out on a journey to make Misty Hollow Carving
go from a dream to a reality and then a genuine business that needs constant
care.
I thought maybe outlining some of
the simple steps that I have taken over these past 6 years may be a help to you.
Misty Hollow Carving was
launched in November 2008. Unemployment
arrived for me in June 2008 after 35 years of working – 10 months before my 65th
Birthday.
Misty Hollow’s potential
customer base was thought to be about 1000 in November 2008. This however dwindled quickly when the EI
removed me from the direct contact with the 1000. A year later the reality was that 1000 had
shrunk to 200 as their worlds and mine separated with little contact.
Today Misty Hollow is alive and
so am I.
A
legitimate question was asked of me by the folk at Northumberland Community
Futures Development Corporation (CFDC).
I was asked to answer this at a presentation to small business owners. Question “No one likes to be ‘manipulated’ or
given a sales job. How can I confidently approach prospective clients when I
know they would rather be left alone?”
·
Catch Fire, be excited
about what you have; keep excited about what you do. Everyone is drawn to a
Fire… few people stop to look at a pile of ashes. (If you can’t catch the Fire, hire someone
who can.)
·
Sales are like fishing
– sometimes the fish are hungry and other times they are not. When fishing you need to realize that a
change in the weather (low to high pressure, high to low pressure) fish will
not bite. In fact it could take 3 days
for fish to adjust to the weather change.
Recession and certain times of the year are my best examples of a change
in the business weather map. It is not
“Recession” everywhere.
·
Knowing what my
customer is personally going through is my advantage – Listen to them – Know
them.
·
Two Fortune Cookies
that I received after a recent meal…1.)
You can make it happen. 2.) Everyone is in love with you.
Personal:
Beginning with the suggestions
by “good people” around me (including other Wood Carvers), I was told that “You
can’t do that.” “It will never work.” “I
can’t see anyone ever buying an old piece of carved wood.” “I could never sell something like
that.” “Good LUCK!”
I started by carving faces for
Teddy Bears. After doing a brain
surgery, a double eye-ectomy and a nose-ectomy – I place his old eyes in the
new face. As a cartoonist and artist
faces of all kinds appeared and Teddy Bears sold like hot cakes. People who
would normally only shop at trade shows, were astounded by this new idea. They even started buying for themselves and
their family members – even after the Recession hit.
My income in the first four
months was higher than it was than it was when I was working full time with a
guaranteed salary.
The Teddy Bear market slowed. I
bought an old mahogany door frame from Habitat for Humanity for $5.00. I
started carving Love Spoons (Celtic Love Spoons) for Wedding Presents,
Anniversary Presents and special gifts.
One side of the Door Frame turned into about $1300.
People still attend weddings and
buy the couple gifts. Buying a hand
carved Love Spoon is less than buying a blender or toaster – and better!
The second question…
2. How do I approach/respond to clients when
they are unresponsive or not interested or are satisfied with their current
supplier?
·
When fishing, the kind
of bait matters. If the bait is not the
right kind – you need to change it. A
Northern Pike will bite just about anything if it moves just a little. Trout
are skittish and only bite what they want… not what the fisherman thinks they
should bite. Change the Bait. A different
product for this customer may be better than what you are trying to sell. Know the Bait and how to handle it.
·
The spot that you fish
in is important. If they are not
responding – not biting here… pull the anchor move the Boat. A different place and a new school of fish
will yield results.
·
Get a bigger
bait. Sometimes we are stuck doing what
we always have done. Doing the same
thing that has not yielded a result over again will in all likelihood, yield
the same results. In one fishing spot I
was using what I thought was a good sized bait, but there were only small
bites. A scuba diver surfaced out in
front of me and asked me what kind of bait I was using. I showed him and he laughed. “That is not big enough...” he said, “Under
me the fish are four to five feet long!” then he swam away. I changed the bait and caught a whopper.
·
At times I may need to
“chum the water” – do something that will bring the fish to where I am. I know one fisherman that puts canned corn
near the place where he wants to catch the Trout. Right or wrong – it worked.
·
Another Fortune Cookie
…1.)
Your unique talents help you achieve many goals
Personal:
The
Teddy Bear market was growing slowly. The Celtic Spoon market was also steady…
but the wedding season was over. I needed something new.
While
sitting in the theatre with my Grandkids, watching the last Harry Potter movie,
it was just fun. Towards the end of the Movie, Harry and Voldemort had just had
it out… Harry won. With the win Harry
now had the Elder Wand in his hand – the most powerful Wand of all. Harry and his friend were on the long bridge
and after some conversation Harry broke the Wand in half and threw it over the
side.
I turned to my Grandson beside me
and said, “I am going to carve a Wand!”
He giggled and within two days I had carved the Elder Wand. Within two weeks I had carved all he Wands.
Bingo! The market fell in my lap so to speak. Families with 10 to 14 year old kids will
coming running to see their son or daughter alive and well at my Show Table.
The 10 to 14 didn’t want to come along that day – but the Wand chose the person
again. Young Adults with lots of
disposable income, ages 20 something to 40 something buy Wands. And funny as it seems – the other end of the
market is 60 to 65 year old Grandmothers that went to the show or borrowed
their grandchild’s books and got hooked. Three distinct markets were now mine.
I
tell folk you can buy one of these Wands for $1045 at Universal Studios (made
of plastic) or one from Misty Hollow at a mere $45.
Question Number 3….
3. How
do I sell when I’m just starting out and have no sample, evidence or track
record? (This translates into lack of confidence.)
·
Start fishing with
what you have… a desire to catch fish and your present equipment – perhaps an
old pole, a simple line and some bait is about all you need.
·
Get into the boat and
push off from the shore – get out where the fish are.
·
When you are ready try
something new. The day the old man
introduced me to a “worm blower”, I could not believe it. He was using a cattle syringe for injections.
Inserting it into the worm and filling the worm with air… made it buoyant,
floating just a little above the bottom where the big fish were. I changed to something I never heard of
before – and did I catch Pickerel – WOW!
·
A fish doesn’t know if
you have a B.A., M.A. or a PhD. They
only know that what you present is attractive or not. Get your line in the water and fish.
·
I am on Fire when I
realize that there is just nothing like Fishing!
·
Still more Fortune
Cookies …1.)
Use your abilities at this time to stay focused on your goal. You will
succeed. 2.) You will
find a golden egg this week.
Personal:
One
day a fellow entrepreneur told me that she couldn’t get any more “Fairy Doors”
from her supplier. She asked me if I had
ever carved a Fairy Door. The answer was,
“No, but let me look into it.”
I
studied the Fairy Market and was blown away by what is happening in this area
of the Market place world-wide. Fairies
are a big deal and going be even bigger very soon.
Working
with another business as a special artist of a weekend, I brought my Fairy
products that I had developed. Through that one meeting and a connection made,
it appears that we will be having our areas fist Fairy Happening on the edge of
the Ganaraska Forrest this next summer. As well there will be a Peterborough, Buckhorn
and Bobcaygeon Fairy Happenings and installations.
Today by using numerous Internet contacts, i.e. Web Pages,
Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Linked In, On-Line Discussion Groups,
Shows and Personal Appearances – plus whatever Social Media is available…
contacts are perhaps at 800,000+ worldwide in Misty Hollow’s 6th
year. One of my Blogs averages 250 to
500 visits per day – average a month at 6,000 to 10,000 (Pageviews all time
history 272,952 March 3, 2014) – feeding out to a Facebook presence, Linked In
and the Web Pages.
Sales are seasonal and steady. Development of new products takes place in
down times/slow times.
Misty Hollow Carving (and many
other aspects) is a work in progress that is growing. Not making Million$ yet but
in comparison to other Wood Carving businesses it is ahead – way ahead. The
Chinese friends of mine in China have made contact and suggested that they
could help me with “product production” to increase my sales. At the present time I am teaching another man
to carve the products that Misty Hollow is known for – with the intent that he
will have has own wood carving business in the next months.
Finally… I carved six, new love spoons.
Took a photo and placed it on my Misty Hollow Facebook page with a mere,
130 followers. I went over to my
Personal Facebook page and mentioned it there with the 1200 followers. Next I wrote a story about the six new spoons
on my Blog and posted 20 photos. I
clicked on my Pinterest button and did the “Pin It” thing. Finally I checked my email before leaving the
machine.
An email was waiting for me. I
had sold a Love Spoon that was paid for through Pay Pal by a lady living in New
York. It was shipped the next day to Ottawa, where it then flew to Australia
with the groom for his wedding.
I am burning up – FIRE! FIRE!
FIRE!
~ Murray Lincoln ~
For your inspection
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