??
在我看來，這個夏天就是路邊的汽水攤。我之所以這么說，是因為我去侄女的汽水攤逗留了一會，驚訝于她的成功創業，而這也是值得所有企業家學習的。
位置，位置，還是位置！
首先，我的侄女把她的汽水攤成功定位于一條非常繁華的街道的拐角處。
這就好比，當你決定開始創業時，你規劃的經營地點則是你成敗的關鍵。如果你打算做實體產品的生意，你就得確保你選的實體店位置，能充分展現你的實體產品的特點并吸引合適。千萬別覺得只有把產品放在貨架上的什么位置才是最難的一步，而店面的位置場所這同樣也很重要，你要確保能夠吸引顧客走進店中把你的產品從貨架上買走。
如果你打算開服務公司，那么最重要的就是要物色好可行的城市并在該市找到合適的商業場所。當年，我之所以選擇在在亞特蘭大周邊地區開調查公司，是因為它位處5大商業中心核心，方便我同顧客相互往來。而且亞特蘭大市場潛力巨大，新興的大型企業都有可能成為合作伙伴。
時機決定商機！
我們都知道汽水在夏天比較好賣，在冬天就少有人問津。
因此在你決定開始創業時，你要做一些調查，熟悉你要經營的市場。你需要了解到哪種產品和哪種服務何時賣得最好。大多數公司都會在不同的季度受到如財政日歷、天氣因素或是假期等因素的影響。所以你要規劃好時間，抓住市場商機，占領市場，也要做好準備應對淡季——做生意總歸是有起有伏的。
提供樣品
在讓她的顧客知道1美元的價格標簽之前，我的侄女飛快的拿出一個樣品。
你必須制定一個計劃，宣傳你即將發行的產品或服務的免費樣品。肯德堅果能量條(Kind bar)的創始人，丹尼爾魯比茲基(Daniel Lubetzky)在2008年投入了800美元的樣品預算，而到了2009年則提高至80萬的預算。他堅信這將使得肯德更為成功，而隨后增加到1000萬美元的預算會讓更多的人嘗試并選擇肯德堅果能量條。
銷售人員至關重要
這世上沒有比我的侄女更好的汽水攤銷售員了。她總是熱情地揮舞她的小旗子讓汽車停下，穿過車水馬龍將產品交到她的顧客手上。
類似地，你要確保你的銷售團隊與你一樣對產品充滿熱愛與激情。你需要的是不斷宣傳你的產品或服務的拉拉隊長，而不是只會站在那里等薪水的人。一個好的銷售團隊不僅對產品十分熟悉，還堅信銷售才能創造更高的銷售量，占有更多的市場份額，引起更大的需求。因而他們熱衷于加入網絡營銷，通過社會媒體宣傳你的產品，而他們的努力最終會帶來巨大的成功。
推廣套餐增加盈利
我的侄女用巧克力薄片餅干作為促銷，推銷給每一個買飲料的人。
同樣地，你的業務會逐漸擴大，你不能只將業務局限在某種產品或服務上。你或許會發現你的主打產品逐漸脫離市場或是你必須通過打折來吸引顧客。通過促銷，反而賺更最多。尤其是餐飲業如漢堡店，他們銷售的漢堡的利潤很小，但利潤主要來源于漢堡套餐中的奶昔和菜單上的油炸食品。
其實銷售最難的部分便是吸引你的顧客上門，推銷套餐商品，獲取更多的利潤。除了這些你還能提供別的什么嗎？
如果你還是不知道的話，可以來參觀我侄女的汽水攤，從最平凡不過的汽水攤上學到一些重要的銷售課程。（m.erdostxps.com）
Very few things represent summer more than a lemonade stand. I was reminded while visiting my niece's lemonade stand the lessons all business owners can learn from this first step into the entrepreneurial journey。
Location, Location, Location
The first thing my niece did well is she put her lemonade stand on the corner of a very busy street。
When starting your business, location is everything. If selling a physical product, you need to ensure an adequate number of physical locations and your product must be visible and easily accessible. Don't make the mistake of believing the hard part is getting a product on the shelf--it's just as difficult (and important) to get the product off the shelf and into your customer's hands。
If you are planning to sell a service, picking a city and location within that city is equally as important. When I started my research company, I placed it in the Perimeter area of Atlanta because it is central to the 5 primary business centers. This location made it easy to travel to customers and have them travel to my location. Atlanta is a good market because of the number of large companies as potential customers。
Timing is Everything
Lemonade stands are in high demand in the summer, but don't have much success in the winter。
Do some research and know your market. Learn what types of products and services sell best and when. Very few companies I work with are immune to some type of cycle--based on fiscal calendars, seasonal factors or even vacation schedules. You must time entering the market and survive the ebbs and flows that are a natural part of running a business。
Give a Sample
My niece is very quick to offer up a sample before letting her patrons know the $1.00 price tag。
You should plan to give away free samples of your products or services. Daniel Lubetzky, creator of the Kind bar, increased his sampling budget from $800 in 2008 to a massive increase in 2009 of $800,000. He credits this increase to the success that Kind is experiencing and now spends upwards of $10 million on efforts to get people to try Kind bars。
Who is Selling the Product Matters
There is no better salesperson for lemonade than my niece. She is enthusiastic about flagging cars down and hustles to get the product in her customers' hands。
Make sure your sales team is just as excited about the product being sold as you are. You need cheerleaders promoting your product or service - not someone who is just there to collect a paycheck. A sales team that understands the product and is enthusiastic about selling it yields higher sales, takes on larger markets and creates more demand. They are willing to attend networking events, promote your product via social media and their efforts will ultimately lead to the greatest success。
Always Have Something to Upsell
My niece had chocolate chip cookies available for upsell and she pushed them to everyone that bought a drink。
When growing a business, don't limit yourself to just one product or service. You may find that your initial product is the giveaway or must be discounted to gain the customer. It's in the upsell that you make the most money. This is especially true in the restaurant space. A burger joint makes very little on the burger. Their profit is found in the milkshakes and fries added to the order。
The hardest part is getting your customer in the door; increase your profit by adding on to their sale. What else can you offer?
Some of the most important lessons in sales can be learned from the simplicity of a lemonade stand。
