First thing the exec will ask is “hey, what is this so called *problem* i have?”. If you can’t define it simply and concisely, you’re out the door before you even put your latte on the table.
Step 2:
Now the big cheese is listening, offer up your solutions to the problem (3 is always a good rule of thumb) AND suggest what one you would go with.
Step 3:
Make sure it is technically possible – if it cant be implemented, you’re out the door.
Ok, you’re still in the game. Make sure it’s financially sound. If it costs $1m to fix a $100k problem, you know where you’re going…
Nearly there: After all your bluster and rational thought, will this answer to the problem really work. You’ve built up some credibility if you’re got this far, so work your magic (now you can become a bit more subjective). Give it a 75% chance of success and you’re off to the races; less than 25% chance of success and you lose, find the door.
I find myself frequently calling up people and asking for business help. Not only is it an incredibly good way to get advice and a new perspective but it is a great way to build a network.
For the most part people are really pleased to help, especially if i have been referred by someone they respect. Likewise, i get my share of people calling me for advice; i always try and make time to do this and be as helpful as i can. I dont claim to be the greatest expert on how to do this but being on both ends of the give-advise-get-advice conversation, i have some opinions on ground rules:
Have a purpose – I always have some specific reasons for wanting to talk. There is nothing more annoying than someone you dont know calling and wanting to ramble on about nothing. Let’s face it, you dont know each other and non of us are in the market for new friends in the middle of the work day. Calling with a specific purpose helps me create a good tone for a conversation and lets the person being called shift gears and snap into the conversation they are having with me. Examples: “I’m having problems hiring quality sales people and i know you have built successful sales teams. How do you find good candidates”; “What’s your opinion on business plans. I’m currently raising money, do i need to write a business or will an investment deck be enough”; “What’s your opinion on hiring an good attorney, is it worth splashing out or do i keep it cheap”; and so on. If this goes well I have a good foundation for talking about the more personal stuff like wind surfing or dog-frisbee. I also like to make sure that i can succinctly describe my business and background in 3o seconds. If you need to create an elevator pitch this video is a great starting point (from Adeo Ressi @ Founder Institute).
Set up a specific time to talk on the phone – I do not call cold, even if I have been introduced over email. The probability that I’m going to get a quality reception is small. Even if the guy answers my call, the chances are that he wont be in a good position to talk anyway (even if he says he is). He’s either just fired someone or he’s just lost his biggest customer. I like to set up some time over email – “Can we talk for 10 minutes if i call you at 10am monday 17th”. I always send a meeting request through Google as well (most the time people do accept it but its still worth it).
Be respectful of time – If I say that I only want 10 minutes of the guys time, then I stick to it. It builds credibility and creates a good platform for future talks: ”I said that i’ll only take 10 minutes of your time and we’ve been talking for that long now. Thanks for your help. Do you mind if i occasionally contact you if i have follow up questions”. People will always say if they want to continue.
DO NOT ASK FOR MONEY THE FIRST TIME - There is nothing worse than the guy who says that he wants your advice and then drops the will-you-fund-me bomb. If you have to ask for money first time around; you better have an iron clad idea. In the rare case that i will be asking for money then i say this prior to the meeting. In my intro email I will say ”I’m raising money and our mutual friend John says that you might be interested in a business like mine”. You can feel the energy drop out of the call if you spring this one unawares. Let’s face it, nobody is going to invest in someone they dont know anyway. Cultivate the relationship first and then you can ask for money. Another way is to say that you would like some advice on your investment pitch (make sure that you do want advice and you’re not just after money because trust me it’s obvious). This is a dangerous one so use it sparingly.
Do your homework - Before I talk to someone i like to make sure that i know something about them. Their background, successes, current area of work etc. Not only is it courteous but it gives me an idea of what relevant advice i can seek. linkedIN is great for this, as is a good old Google search.
If you are not calling people for advice regularly then you should be. Every successful person i have met is an expert at this. By putting some thought into all this, you’ll avoid hanging up the phone with that cringing thought “why the f***” did i just say that”. Do not become Mikey…
This morning I visited the Center of Puppetry Arts in Atlanta with my two year old. The history of the Muppet Show was interesting (and fun).
Jim Henson’s story, as creator of the Muppets and numerous puppet characters, is captivating. Reading between the lines of how he created one of the classic and longest lasting icons of modern day entertainment, you can see a clear formula for successful.
Need –TV commercials created an on-ramp for an old artistry to discover a new medium. It also provided a business model and a revenue platform for it to morph into an entertainment machine.
Passion – the breeding bed for innovation. Strip it down and Henson did what he did because he loved it. This created the environment to discover, experiment and not so much ‘find’ a formula that worked – because this implies he was searching– but something found him.
Innovation – Henson took the established puppet world and turned it on its head. The technology vehicle of choice was TV and he used its production capabilities to deliver a total new and revolutionarily experience. Henson broke with the existing mold.
Innovation through TV
Branding – Muppets leveraged star power. By taking an old format – anonymous person pulling the strings – Henson created new way for the audience to interact with the people they knew. Puppet plus established star equaled something that would stick.
A new Brand
Find what you will from this but it’s an interesting case study on how a business – and industry – grew from beginning to end and literally in front of our eyes.
Why, what about, where and who cares anyway. All these are good questions crammed into a single sentence (i’m sure some literary type can tell me the name for it). I’ve pondered a lot why i dont blog, if i should, what should i write about and who would care about it anyway (and why should i care who anyway). Like anything in life, when something has a purpose and a focus it becomes more meaningful because it has a context that makes it relevant to a given group of people, no matter how small or large. So far i’ve never gotten this raison d’être for writing and much of this has sprung from an acute case of subject idea ADD. At the end of the day, it comes down to relevance and picking something. I would rather be relevant to just one person by concentrating on just one area than irrelevant to the everyone by rambling all over the place.
So, as much for myself as anyone else (there’s my guaranteed one person at least) i want to talk about what it’s like to go through looking, finding and building a new business. I’ve already had the one smash hit: building and selling a .com in the frenzy of 2000 when Monopoly ceased to become just a board game (see my linkedin for more), almost done it again with a second startup (work in progress at Vocalocity) and had a smattering of other projects (like Fizzbee) but since last October i’ve been full on looking for my next thing. Is it a case of once you’re lucky, twice you’re good (the book)? Hmmm, we’ll see.
Without doubt, starting your own thing is not something conjured out of thin air. The major universal force working against you, is that most good business ideas come out of organic growth and a real life a-ha when doing something while sizing up the fruit in Wholefoods; they are not manufactured synthetically inside our own cerebral boxes. So given that, here’s some of my experiences of trying to do it again. It’s stimulating, frustrating, rewarding, demoralizing and interspersed with moments of utter clarity and complete confusion (sometimes shared between breakfast and lunch); i’m great; i’m crap; this is it, no it’s not. You’ll get the idea and hopefully it’ll be enlightening and maybe useful for the army of others going through the same…
Step 1:
