Become a More Impactful Veteran Business Owner by Learning Sales Acceleration Strategies

Center: Drayton Florence Co-founder of National Invest In Veterans Week

If you are a veteran small business owner needing to increase revenues for your company this year significantly, it is imperative you strategically approach growth. If you're going to accelerate your company's profits this year, integrate the following five simple steps into your sales plan-of-action.

Assess Team Strengths

The first task you must complete is to assess the individual sales strengths of your current team members. Understand which team members excel at customer interactions and which ones are superior product specialists. Develop detailed reviews of your employees to understand better your staff members' overall sales strengths (and weaknesses). Don't forget to review your management team's sales strengths as your employees likely look to management to lead by example. 

Review Performance Environment 

Once you have assessed the sales strengths of your team, review their past performance. Discover who was on your payroll during exceptionally good sales years and who were the culprits when sales declined. When you review your team's past performance, you get a clearer idea of which attributes lead your team to sales victories and which ones caused morale to decline. By assessing team strengths and reviewing past performance, you get a better overview of where your small business team currently stands in terms of its ability to increase growth rates.

Analyze Competitors

The next simple step in developing a sales acceleration strategy for your small business is to analyze your competitors. Are there local competitors nipping at your brick-and-mortar sales? Are e-commerce behemoths like Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba annihilating your online sales? The more energy you put into learning your competitors and the tactics they are using to acquire customers, the better prepared you will be to use those same strategies to grow your small business. 

Create Buyer Personas 

Creating buyer personas is essential if you want to increase your small business' sales rate this year. You might assume you know your customers well enough that there is no need to document personas for your customers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Creating buyer personas for your small business isn't just about getting to know your customers better. Creating small business buyer personas helps you identify your ideal customers and discover opportunities to connect with potential brand loyalists for your small business. 

Review Marketing Initiatives

The final step in creating a sales acceleration strategy for your small business is to review your marketing initiatives to date. Which tactics are you using to grow your company, and which tactics have proven to offer a worthwhile return-on-investment? Combine the data you get from analyzing current and past marketing initiatives with the data you accumulate from analyzing your competitors' growth tactics. 

Keep these strategies in mind to increase the impact of your veteran owned business.

Behind the Mission: National Invest In Veterans Week

Welcome to National Invest In Veterans Week. I am sure you have numerous questions regarding the mission and vision of National Invest In Veterans Week. Below are our most commonly asked questions regarding who we are and how to get involved with National Invest In Veterans Week.

What's National Invest In Veterans Week? 

National Invest In Veterans Week is a veteran-owned, award-winning social impact organization dedicated to advocating for veteran entrepreneurs nationwide. Established in 2017 by nationally syndicated columnist and Iraq War veteran Jeff Shuford and National Football League star Drayton Florence, National Invest In Veterans Week is hyper-focused on veteran business development nationwide.

So what awards has National Invest In Veterans Week won? 

A 2017 BizTech Award from Comcast Business, Named Best Social Impact Initiative Of 2021 by The Ritz Herald. A Veterans in Business Award from The Hudson Weekly and an Innovative Media Excellence Award from the Belmont Star. We are truly honored and dedicated to serving veterans nationwide.

What problem does National Invest In Veterans Week solve? 

For decades, veterans have embarked on the mission of launching successful businesses after serving our country. During their transitions, veterans are commonly presented with opportunities to work for companies rather than start their own. Our organization supports veteran entrepreneurs through advocacy, impact, and branding to help them become established, veteran business owners. 

When is National Invest In Veterans Week? 

National Invest In Veterans Week is observed each year from March 1st through March 7th. During the week, we honor aspiring and established veteran business owners and their contributions to the economy. Celebrate National Invest In Veterans Week by recognizing aspiring and established veteran entrepreneurs nationwide.

Why celebrate veteran business owners? 

According to the Small Business Administration, small business firms owned by veterans employed 5.03 million people, had an annual payroll of $195 billion and receipts of $1.14 trillion. Representing only 9.1 percent of all U.S. businesses, veterans have an unquestionable invaluable impact on economic ecosystems nationwide. A recent study by the SBA also noted, "For decades, military veterans have been a vital part of the nation's business sector—leveraging the valuable skills they gained during their service to start businesses across the country. However, veteran entrepreneurship is facing a generational decline, with younger veterans owning businesses at lower rates compared to past generations. Furthermore, we are now beginning to see veterans owning businesses at lower rates compared to nonveterans." National Invest In Veterans Week's mission is to empower veteran business owners of all generational demographics and to inspire the community to support our brave heroes as they start and grow businesses.

How to celebrate National Invest In Veterans Week? 

Consider the following tips:

1. Promote Veteran-Owned Businesses on Social Media.

2. Buy from Veteran-Owned Businesses.

3. Host a workshop for aspiring veteran entrepreneurs.

4. Nurture Veteran Startups—partner with a veteran-owned business.

5. Host a gathering of Veteran-Owned Businesses.

6. Mentor a veteran entrepreneur.

7. Promote National Invest In Veterans Week via social media.

8. Petition your local legislators to honor veterans during National Invest In Veterans Week.

9. Visit www.investinveteransweek.com to see how you can get involved, learn more about National Invest In Veterans Week's mission, and share your favorite veteran entrepreneur or veteran business on Social Media using the hashtag #National Invest In Veterans Week.

   Read More: https://www.investinveteransweek.com/veteran-entrepreneurship-insights-opportunities

National Invest In Veterans Week Launches The American Society of Veteran Business Owners

Earlier this year, National Invest In Veterans Week, a Tech From Vets brand, launched the American Society of Veteran Business Owners to help veteran entrepreneurs nationwide. Created to help veteran entrepreneurs build a community of like-minded warriors that served our nation with distinction, the society is aimed at connecting veterans at every stage of business development. "With so many veterans exiting the military interested in starting their businesses, the need to create an organization catered to serving their needs is an essential element to National Invest In Veterans Week," stated ASVBO co-founder Jeff Shuford. A 2018 study by the Small Business Administration (SBA) discovered numerous issues facing aspiring veteran business owners, and the American Society of Veteran Business Owners intends to highlight those issues. 

The study noted the value that veteran business owners bring to communities nationwide. "For decades, military veterans have been a vital part of the nation's business sector—leveraging the valuable skills they gained during their service to start businesses across the country. However, veteran entrepreneurship is facing a generational decline, with younger veterans owning businesses at lower rates compared to past generations. Furthermore, we are now beginning to see veterans owning businesses at lower rates compared to nonveterans," the study notes. The groundbreaking research originates from the Federal Reserve Banks' Small Business Credit Survey and detailed the struggles that veteran business owners face in the infancy of their company's development. The study states, "Of particular concern for policy makers is whether veterans have a more difficult time accessing capital than nonveteran business owners. In order to substantiate policy intervention on behalf of veteran entrepreneurs, it is necessary to size the market and understand the needs and challenges. While anecdotal evidence points to capital access challenges, systematic data collection has been limited."

Access to capital is a primary issue facing aspiring veteran business owners. In response to the study's findings, nationally syndicated columnist and co-founder of National Invest In Veterans Week Jeff Shuford highlighted the need for education regarding business capital options. "While surveying veteran entrepreneurs through private interviews and veteran business summits, the majority of veterans stated that they didn't know where to access the vital financing for their business ideas. Veterans mentioned that digital marketing was also difficult due to the nature of their particular business and the complexity of the digital marketing industry itself. Without the proper capital to hire experts with knowledge of digital marketing, veterans are left to develop inadequate strategies regarding advertising and business marketing online," stated Shuford. This is not an issue of veterans not having the skills to launch successful businesses; instead, as noted in the SBA study, veterans lack resources when launching their business concepts. "For decades, these skills manifested in strong entrepreneurial rates among veterans. A study conducted by the SBA's Office of Advocacy in 2011 found that military service is highly correlated with self-employment probability and that veterans are at least 45 percent more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed. This economic engine for the US cannot be overstated; in 2012, there were 2.5 million veteran-owned businesses generating $1.1 trillion in sales and $195 billion in annual payroll," remarked the research study.

Put simply, regardless of the obstacles facing aspiring veteran business owners, the skills and lessons they learn from serving in our armed forces keep them focused on their mission of launching and supporting businesses in our local communities. The American Society of Veteran Business Owners' mission is to advocate for veteran entrepreneurs while connecting veterans with veteran business owners who have risen above these daunting hurdles.