When your business is in its infancy, priority No. 1 should be building a customer base — in other words, lead generation, says Michael Masterson, author of Ready, Fire, Aim (michaelmasterson.com). Successful entrepreneurs invest most of their time, attention, and energy in the lead-generating process. The ratio of time, creativity, and money spent on sales lead generation as opposed to other aspects of business should be something like 80/20, with 80 percent of your efforts going toward selling and only 20 percent toward everything else.

As the business grows out of its infancy — as it goes beyond the million-dollar revenue mark by selling many more products through many more channels — you can let other people do most of the selling. But by establishing your marketing credentials during the first stage, when the selling secrets of your business are still unknown, you will gain a deep understanding of your business that will serve you well for the rest of your career.

Generating sales leads can be terrifying. It can be tough, gritty, unglamorous work. But when you make that first big sale, you realize it’s also exhilarating. And, like it or not, you probably won’t become a successful entrepreneur until you can sell your product or service in your sleep.

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