You don’t break into a new market easily – let’s admit that. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to establish yourself. This energy can be measured both in terms of money, personnel, and time.

But how do you achieve the maximum impact given a certain amount of energy? The answer is, you focus the energy on as small a point as possible. Through focus, you stand a chance to punch through and get to the other side. This concept applies both to the physical world of objects, and in the world of business.

The best way to break into a market, is to focus your energy. This is where many businesses struggle. They apply huge amounts of energy, but all over the place. There is no focus, and the result is that it takes very long to successfully enter a market, if at all. It becomes an ultra-marathon to establish the business. Things never get out of the starting blocks, cash is always tight, the owner is always running from one crisis to the next, growth remains elusive and the business remains stuck in “small” mode.

So how do you focus your energy, especially your marketing and sales energy, when you are not even sure where to aim it? My view is you need to take on a mindset of extreme experimentation. In fact, stop thinking of your business, as a business. See it purely as an experiment. You have an idea, you think you can make money from it. Now quickly start to test it fast. Throw as many ideas at the market and see what sticks. Once something sticks, even slightly, aim your sales and marketing efforts on it with vigour. Focus your energy to see if you can break through – break into – the market using the opportunity you have spotted. That spot where something has stuck! Apply this process again and again until you find success.

Ultimately this idea of rapidly testing a business idea to see if it has potential is well known. My own insight is the importance of combining it with focused marketing and sales efforts once an opportunity shows potential. If you don’t do this, you risk never truly exploiting the opportunity. You risk staying small for longer because you have not taken full advantage of the positive feedback.

The way to grow is not only to have a great idea that shows real promise. You also need to apply focused energy through targeted marketing and sales efforts to truly make it count!