Meet 16 Year Old Entrepreneur From Pakistan: Haris Baloch – Thrive Global

You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end

Thanks again for taking the time to share your best growth advice.
First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about
you. How did you get here?

Haris Baloch: Absolutely. Thanks for
taking the time to interview me. I’m a 16-year-old entrepreneur from Pakistan
Balochistan.I’m The First entrepreneur from balochistan pakistan. I’m the Founder
of Rifialo Media (a media publishing company), but prior to this, I’ve created
a web agency, entertainment company and a few smaller businesses. I was born in
Kharan Balochistan. Growing up, life wasn’t hard. I guess I started my
entrepreneurial journey in the search for Freedom. Financial freedom, but also
the freedom to create and build based on my ideas and decisions, not being told
what to do.

What is the single biggest mistake you have ever made and what did
you learn from it?

Haris Baloch: Well, this is a big one.
I’m just listing what mistakes I made and hopefully will never make again:

1. Hiring friends & family & friends of friends or
similar. They all showed up with a major self-entitlement attitude because they
felt they were special and couldn’t be fired. This boils down to the bad
recruitment mistakes several people have already mentioned, but it was a major
problem for me.

2. Postponing difficult terminations. Who likes to fire people?
Not me. Of course, I did it because I had to for my business, but sometimes I
would wait longer than I should have. This just allowed the damage to continue.
I procrastinated because I discovered how many prospective employers
misrepresented their abilities, backgrounds and their work ethics.

3. Not always keeping my eyes on the cash flow. Yes, you need
experts to help you run your business. However, you must pay attention to
everything. Plan for short and long term challenges. Always have cash in
reserve and your funding sources on speed dial. I learned quickly that I had to
review the business books on a weekly basis to keep my eye on the money ball. A
few things slipped by me and bite me in the rear. Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me. Recruitment was a major challenge.

4. Not realizing you must follow all laws, rules and file all
paperwork. Even when you do absolutely everything 100% correctly, the world is
full of very bad people who are opportunistic and will do whatever they can to
take any opening you give them. Be sure to read every contract, especially the
fine print. Then read it again. Anyone can sue anyone for any reason. Be
prepared and know your options.

5. Learning to think outside the box. I met an extremely
successful billionaire businessman at a large business conference 25 years ago.
I asked him for the secrets to his success. He told me he’d followed
traditional good business practices which helped him build his business empire.
He told me to always keep an open mind and be willing to consider anything
within reason which might give me a special business edge or help me overcome
the competition

In your experience, what are the key pitfalls to succeeding in media and how can you overcome them?

Haris Baloch: The key to social media
success lies in determining what you want to achieve for your business or your
goal. You also have to make sure that your goal syncs in with your marketing
strategy. In achieving social media success, you have to consider a number of
things, such as your website traffic, increasing your sales, improving your
customer engagement and many more. Consistency is key. Post regularly and
engage your followers by replying to their comments. Make your posts
entertaining and educational. Once you’ve determined those things, you are on
your way to attaining your success.

What are your three best tips when it comes to social media
growth?

Haris Baloch: Content marketing is surely
capturing a lot of attention. Today’s digital marketing environment facilitates
a lot of channels of distribution which allow specific content to reach
specific readers.

1. Ask yourself this Before you start. Why should someone follow
you or your brand on Social media? Define the purpose.

2. Don’t compromise on great designs and videos. Creativity
inspires people on social media. It helps you define your class.

3. You sell What you show. So, show things in style. Invest in
great product Photography and Videography. Quality visuals help you stay
distinguished.

Describe your sales methodology. Have you found that different
types of prospects are responsive to different types of styles, and if so, do
you adapt your style to the type of customer you are selling to?

Haris Baloch: Rifiako Media is our
consultative selling methodology. The acronym stands for Rapport, Aspirations
and Afflictions, Impact, and New Reality. It’s a blueprint that helps sellers
lead masterful sales conversations, run effective sales processes, and create
and win sales opportunities. Rifiako Media uses questioning techniques to
uncover the full set of buyer needs and desires. Sellers focus on value by
bringing new ideas and perspectives to buyers and crafting compelling
solutions. Once you master selling, move on to learn how to inspire buyers with
ideas, and shape their agendas for action. We call this Insight selling. RAIN
is core consultative selling, Insight Selling is advanced consultative selling.
They work together.

What do you believe is the hardest step in the growth process and
how can it best be navigated?

Haris Baloch: Let’s just admit it. We all
say we don’t care about the number of followers we have on social networks, but
we all do. If you’re a mature digital marketer, you know that follower count
isn’t any guarantee of the value of a social media account. But at the same
time, you also know having a lot of followers is far from worthless. Like it or
not, people do look at your follower numbers, which affects their decision to
follow you. In addition, the more followers you have, the larger the potential
reach and influence you have (provided those followers are real and relevant to
your business). I’ve noticed that when I post something that gets widely
reshared, I almost always gain new followers. So I’ve paid careful attention
over the years to the kinds of social media posts that get those shares. The
hardest truth about social media is that no matter how popular you become if
you stop posting and engaging you’ll be forgotten in no time. You’ve got to
maintain a regular presence, but you also don’t want to overdo it.

What are your best tips for improving your close rate?

Haris Baloch: Have a consistent process
to plan to win big. There is no one big thing, but discipline on the whole
picture is the key. Focus on the right audience. Know their thinking process.
Know the value case to win. Anticipate their objections. Make your value case
exceptionally strong. Take coordinated, specific actions to set yourself apart
and outsmart the competition.

What is your best advice around making the ask?

Haris Baloch: Don’t make it too soon. A
proposal should be a summary of what you’ve already agreed to. If you haven’t
agreed to the solution or talked pricing, you’re asking too soon. Then, when
it’s time to ask, just ask. Don’t use some silly techniques. Be clear about the
action you want a buyer to take, lay it out for them, and ask them to take it.

What is one thing everyone can do tomorrow to become better at
marketing?

Haris Baloch: Good news, you don’t have
to be tech-savvy to be able to pull this off, but you just need to master the
simple trend in the market and know what works for you and that’s is all. What
helps, however, is to stay up-to-date and learn constantly. It’s mostly because
social media change a lot, and you never know when your content stops
resonating with the target audience. You will be needing to read more, invest
more time into social media marketing and watch everything else fall into
place. You have to take action, test out different approaches, and be willing
to try new things. Starting this is the most important step.

What is the single best piece of marketing advice you have ever
received?

Haris Baloch: Ready, Aim, Fire. Many
marketers fire before aiming. They ‘make a ton of calls’ but they’re scattered.
Many marketers Aim and Fire, but aren’t ready. They don’t know their audience
or offerings well enough. They say the wrong things and then the audience
dismisses them as incompetent. Some are Ready and Aim, but don’t take enough
action. Get your plan together, make it a good one, then get in the game and
get to work