Casual Articles - Business

Go Slow to Go Fast - Why Over 80% Of High Tech Startups Fail And What To Do About It
With billions of dollars of venture capital residing down the street on Sand Hill Road, two Stanford professors are attempting to answer a fundamental question “why does it always take longer and cost more to build a hi-tech company than anyone ever expects?” For all the intellect, experience and graduate degrees in the venture capital industry, the sad truth is that 80% of venture capital investments do not pan out. While the reasons for this high attrition rate are too numerous to list here, a simple fact defines every successful investment - the company figures out how to bring in more money than it spends. The secret to solving this fundamental equation these two professors believe lies in the Sales Learning Curve.Mark Leslie, an entrepreneur turned Stanford lecturer who took a startup company, Veritas, from nascent stages to over $1B in re

ut a regular newsletter (e-mail or hardcopy); sending out a monthly tip related to the service you provide; offering free or low cost introductory trainings; participating in selected networking events on a regular basis; and offering teleclasses. The important thing is that you are consistently in contact with these potential clients. After all, you don’t want to leave them out on the middle of the ladder over a deep chasm without a guide.

Step 3 - Conviction and Purchase: The final step in the process is getting those potential customers who have begun the journey across the chasm to actually make the decision to purchase. Now it is time to sell. And if you have developed a relationship with the potential client throughout their journey, this step should be as simple as reaching out to take their hand as they reach the end of the ladder, reassuring them they have made the right decision by embarking on the journey and asking when they would like to get started. At this point, it is critical that you ask them for their business. If you don’t, they will wonder why you had them take the journey. They’ll feel like the person in the appliance superstore who is rea

6 Tips for Managing Subordinates
Not everyone has the leadership abilities of Jack Welch or Steve Jobs, but there are some things everyone in a leadership position can do to improve their relationship with their team. Mutual respect is vital to a leader’s ultimate success so it is important that these six tips are followed by all leaders.Coach Behind Closed Doors; Praise in PublicGood leaders realize a lot of their success is achieved through the help of others. Instinctively, they seem to understand that their accomplishments are due to their support group so they are careful not to publicly humiliate their valued contributors. Praising in public goes a long way toward instilling confidence in subordinates while coaching behind closed doors maintains the two-way respect built in the relationship. Mistakes are bound to be made but if a leader handles them profe

Many business owners and professionals are appalled at the thought of having to sell their products or services. If you are going to be successful though, regardless of your profession, you are also going to be in the business of selling. But you don’t have to don a plaid jacket and adopt the sales techniques that have made the used car salesman infamous.

If we are uncomfortable “selling” our services, it is generally because we are trying to “sell” before someone has reached the purchase stage of the buying process. While selling may never be the favorite part of your job, by implementing a systematic process you can move potential clients into the purchase phase and increase your comfort level and success with selling.

Imagine that you were in the market to purchase a big screen TV. You had visited a couple of stores to see what was available, done some research on the internet, talked with friends, and narrowed the choice down to 3 models. Now you have a few questions you need answered to help you make your decision. You go to the appliance superstore, a salesperson approaches you as you enter the department and asks if she can be of help. She asks you a few questions about where you plan to put it, your budget, and what the primary use will be. She answers your questions and helps you decide on the model that is best for you. Not only are you not put off by the salesperson, you would have been upset if there would not have been a salesperson to help you.

Contrast this with a situation where you are visiting an appliance superstore with a friend. You decide to go check out the big screen TVs because you’ve been thinking about getting one. The same salesperson approaches you and asks if she can help you. You say, “No thanks I’m just browsing.” As if she hadn’t heard your reply, she starts asking you the same questions as in the scenario above. However, this time you find the questions annoying and the sales person pushy.

The difference in these two scenarios is simply your position in the buying process. How would it have been different if instead of insisting on asking you a series of questions she had simply given you an article re-print from Consumer Reports and a list of 10 questions to consider before purchasing a big screen TV with the store’s name, her name and telephone number at the bottom?

The process people go through in making a buying decision is:

• Phase 1: Awareness and Knowledge

• Phase 2: Liking and Preference

• Phase 3: Conviction and Purchase

The only people you should try to sell your products or services to are those people in the conviction and purchase phase. The problem is many businesses do not implement the necessary steps to move prospective clients to Phase 3 so they are constantly trying to sell to prospects that are in Phase 1.

Think about it like this, you and your products or services are standing at the edge of a chasm on Mount Everest. I call it the Purchase Chasm™. Your potential customers are on the other side. Your job is to get those prospects to cross the chasm on a flimsy aluminum ladder, one step at a time and ultimately purchase your services. At this stage your objective is simply to get them to take that first step out onto the ladder, followed by another until they reach the ultimate decision to purchase. You don’t push, manipulate or cajole them into purchasing. You simply serve as a guide providing information and assistance through the process.

So how can you begin to move your potential customers across the Purchase Chasm™?

Step 1 - Awareness and Knowledge: Before someone can purchase your product or service they must be aware of it. They must also be able to picture in their minds the problems the service will solve for them. And that picture must be enticing enough to motivate them to take that first step. At this phase your objective is to make your potential customers aware of your services and give them knowledge about the benefits they will gain from working with you. This is generally done through activities where you can reach a large number of people at one time. A major goal at this stage is to collect contact information so you can continue to provide information to help these prospective clients move across the Purchase Chasm™.

Step 2 - Liking and Preference: Awareness alone is not enough. Potential customers must also have a positive disposition regarding your services. During this phase it is important to maintain consistent contact. Consistency builds credibility. You also want to let prospective clients “sample” your service in order to minimize the perceived risk of purchase. You can do this by sending out a regular newsletter (e-mail or hardcopy); sending out a monthly tip related to the service you provide; offering free or low cost introductory trainings; participating in selected networking events on a regular basis; and offering teleclasses. The important thing is that you are consistently in contact with these potential clients. After all, you don’t want to leave them out on the middle of the ladder over a deep chasm without a guide.

The Market Is the Master
A critical principle every business needs to grasp while marketing is to understand and accept that a majority of your success is out of your control.You must recognize that your prospects and clients possess ultimate authority over your business success or failure. The only factors within your power are the opportunities and resources to influence the actions that lead to purchasing your product or service.This is a strange notion when you think about it. You’ve carefully researched, designed, and marketed your product offering, but you don’t maintain control of it? How can this be?It simply boils down to one fundamental concept: the market is the master.It’s the market that will ultimately decide your fate in your business venture. They have in their possession two powerful tools to determine your success: the freedom of

a few questions about where you plan to put it, your budget, and what the primary use will be. She answers your questions and helps you decide on the model that is best for you. Not only are you not put off by the salesperson, you would have been upset if there would not have been a salesperson to help you.

The process people go through in making a buying decision is:

• Phase 1: Awareness and Knowledge

• Phase 2: Liking and Preference

• Phase 3: Conviction and Purchase

So how can you begin to move your potential customers across the Purchase Chasm™?

5 Low Cost, Easy to Implement Ideas for Raising Your Profile as a Consultant
1. Give Presentations - offer to speak at local networking events, local business groups or events where your target market "hangs out" Speak on topics that are pertinent to your target market and which give value to them in solving a problem, inspiring them to take action or inform and educate them.2. Write Articles - find publications that your target market reads and offer to write articles for them. This will help not only raise your profile to a wider audience but also help create a higher level of credibility as people will see you as a specialist in your field.3. Post to Online Networking Groups - become an active contributor to forums, blogs and discussion groups and give your opinion, raise questions and create conversations with like minded people.4. Organise and Lead Events - events that have a

p>The process people go through in making a buying decision is:

• Phase 1: Awareness and Knowledge

• Phase 2: Liking and Preference

• Phase 3: Conviction and Purchase

So how can you begin to move your potential customers across the Purchase Chasm™?

Social Validation Marketing
We are social animals. We all have an innate desire to belong to a social group. It is precisely because we value this sense of belonging so highly that the more other people find an idea, trend, or position appealing or correct, the more correct that idea becomes in our own minds. We tend to change our perceptions, opinions, and behaviors in ways that are consistent with group norms. Even if we don't admit it, or maybe even realize it, we care about what others think. As such, we use others' behavior as a guide in establishing the standard for the choices and decisions we make.Researchers from Arizona State University reported that before one of Billy Graham's televised crusades, his organization had coached thousands of volunteers on when to come up front, when to sing, and when to clap, all to give the appearance of great, religious in

ur potential customers across the Purchase Chasm™?

Fundraising, A Revolutionary New Method!
One of the biggest obstacles faced by non-profit organizations on a regular basis is – you guessed it – fundraising. We’re all aware of the most basic and common fundraisers since we see them all the time; carwashes, bake sales, dinners, raffles, and the list goes on. Isn’t there a better alternative? Read on…Depending on the size of the organization, these can be relatively profitable. A private school in my area held a holiday dinner, with a turnout of about 500 people. Factor in a donation of about $20 per person to eat, and $10,000 is not a bad evening’s work. The school has also done such things as buying pizza coupons at a discount, or even free, and selling them to their members/parents. What’s the alternative? Read on…ut a regular newsletter (e-mail or hardcopy); sending out a monthly tip related to the service you provide; offering free or low cost introductory trainings; participating in selected networking events on a regular basis; and offering teleclasses. The important thing is that you are consistently in contact with these potential clients. After all, you don’t want to leave them out on the middle of the ladder over a deep chasm without a guide.

It may take as many as five to 15 exposures to your product or service for a potential client to move through the process and cross the Purchase Chasm™ from lead to loyal customer. The key is to build those exposures so each one matches the level of the process where the potential customer currently is (i.e. direct mass media activities to potential customers in the awareness phase and use personal selling with prospects in the conviction and purchase phase).

Writing, speaking and networking are activities that many coaches and consultants enjoy. By systematically using these activities as marketing tools you reduce the time you actually have to spend selling, you focus your selling activities to people who are actually ready to buy, and it becomes a natural ending to the relationship building process.

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Creative Branding Increases Sales Through Company Recognition

An effective brand, logo, and company name is one that is memorable, creative, and easy to spell. This is the first step in creating a company that people will know and like.

Does It Really Take Money To Make Money?

It's often been said that it takes money to make money. While money can certainly speed things up, it's definitely not a requirement to making great money.

Why Do I Work for Myself?

Towards the end of the month when payroll is due and the bank account is running low, I ask myself why I like being an entrepreneur, why I turn down offers that pay me two to three times more than what I take home today and why I think that in the long run working for myself is the way to go?

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