Ideas To Deals

How to be prepared for your angel investor

Reena Jadhav talks to Randy Williams, founder of Keiretsu Forum, about angel investing on her show, "Cashing Out: Exits and Valuations with Reena Jadhav."

See this video on Vator.tv »

Hate Sales...Why?

Most people get into business because they have a passion for what it is they are doing.  They have a passion about their product or service that drives them to share this with the world.  However, many of these same people do not share the same passion around business activities especially sales (and of course accounting but everybody hates accounting). Why is that?  I would suspect that is because people think they need to emulate the negative stereotype of the slick talking, product pushing sales person.  They are not comfortable with all the "Mr prospect, what do I have to do to get you to buy today" closing techniques.  If you are like me you vision of hell is spending eternity negotiating to buy a car. 

Here are a few tips to make sales a little more palatable for the non-sales oriented business owner.

• You don't have to slick you hair back to sell ~ Not everyone is Ari Gold but anyone can sell.  Be yourself and share what makes your product a must have.
• Objections are requests for more information and clarification ~ Don't turn into JoJo The Monkey Boy the second someone questions you.  Relax and respond.  Share your knowledge and help the prospect better understand.
• No is not a bad answer ~ Don't take it personal...Next.
• Maybe is the "Worst" answer ~ Don't let "maybes" clog up your pipeline.  I remember when I was young I had a prospect that kept telling me maybe.  I would point to that as THE big deal that was coming.  Guess what, it never did.
• If you practice your pitch you will get better ~ Like anything else practice makes perfect.  Work on your presentation then get out and do it.  Learn from every presentation and you will be successful.

The biggest thing to remember is to "Create Value" for your customer.  Sales is not about getting someone to buy what they don't want or need it is about helping the person.  No one will be a bigger cheerleader for your product than you.  No one can better articulate the value of your product than you.  You should want to speak to people to get them to buy your product.  Only through the process of selling can you share what you have brought to life when you started your business.

Unless You Are An NBA Star Protect Your Personal Brand

Although I'm not a huge NBA fan, like many other Ohioans, I found myself following the Lebron James "Decision" (it was either that or watch the World Cup, child please).  Throughout the process I was fascinated with the deterioration of the "personal brand" that he had spend the past 10 or so years building.  By the time he finally announced I found myself thinking...what an A-hole.  Was this bad advice or bad branding?  As time pasted I started thinking that this could have been a calculated effort to shift his personal brand to appeal to a different demographic.  I think in Lebron's case he is just an A-hole but I think there is a lesson here.  Most of us won't get paid millions of dollars regardless of how people see us so it is important that your personal brand be managed not just allowed to flow with the current.

Honestly your brand is not how you see yourself it is how others see you.  You can attempt to influence but you can't control perceptions of others.  This is why managing your personal brand is important.  Now more than every there is a tremendous amount of information floating around the internet about you.  This information might be old or even incorrect but there may be people using that information and building an opinion about you.  You can go in after the fact and take down those Facebook pics of you and your friends in Mexico but are they really gone or have they sunk your chances of getting that dream job?

As you move along your life think about what you are all about.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  Knowing this will allow you to prep the steps you want to take in your life.  If you really want to build a personal brand decide how you can best position yourself relating to reaching your goals. Remember there is more than one way to get to the same destination.   As you build your brand don't create something that you are not.  You should take advice, read, plan but choose a path that will allow you to be yourself.  You might get away with playing a character for awhile but you'll be much more comfortable being genuine. 

Fans, participants and spectators by Seth Godin

The following post is taken from the blog of Seth Godin.  Be sure to check out Seth's’ incredible blog to learn more from "America's Greatest Marketer".

Fans, participants and spectators by Seth Godin

A good preacher ought to be able to get 70% of the people who showed up on Sunday to make a donation.

A teeny bop rock group might convert 20% of concert goers to buy a shirt or souvenir.

A great street magician can get 10% of the people who watch his show to throw a dollar in the hat.

Direct marketers used to shoot for 2% conversion from a good list, but now, that's a long shot.

A blogger might convert 2% of readers to buy a book. (I'm aghast at this).

And a twitter user with a lot of fans will be lucky to get one out of a thousand to click a link and buy something. (.1%)

Likes, friendlies and hits are all fast-growing numbers that require little commitment. And commitment is the essence of conversion. The problem with commitment is that it's frightening (for both sides). And so it's easy to avoid. We just click and move on.

I think there's a transparent wall, an ever bigger one, between digital spectators and direct interaction or transaction. The faster the train is moving, the harder it is to pay attention, open the window and do business. If all you're doing is increasing the number of digital spectators to your work, you're unlikely to earn the conversion you deserve.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Innovation can be learned | VentureBeat

Most people think of innovation as a “Eureka!” moment – or something that comes from hours upon hours of tinkering. But Josh Makower, CEO of ExploraMed, argues that innovation is a skill that can be taught in this Entrepreneur Thought Leader lecture given at Stanford University. By studying what propels innovation, he says, people can develop their own skills and break new ground.

via entrepreneur.venturebeat.com