For tech entrepreneurs out there like me, the allure and excitement of a startup comes from the joy of building a really cool product. There’s an amazing sense of satisfaction in starting with a clean slate and creating a product that’s even better than expected. Unfortunately, successful startups aren’t predicated on good products — sales is the driver. But even before you begin selling the product, there’s another type of sale that needs to be made.
Entrepreneurs need to learn how to sell their vision to be successful.
When I say sell, I don’t necessarily mean pick up the phone and start cold calling people, but rather convince other people that you know what you’re doing and are going to figure out how to be successful. Entrepreneurs need to sell the vision to many different types of people, including:
- Customers — Yes, getting people to use or pay for something is a monumental task and naturally should be your number one focus.
- Family members — Many people don’t think about this before they take the entrepreneurial plunge, but getting support from friends and family can be really tough and is often invaluable in facilitating your journey.
- Employees — Recruiting and growing talented employees is one of the top reasons for success, and the importance of this task should never be underestimated.
- Investors — Nowadays, technology businesses don’t require near the amount of capital that was required 10 years ago, but they still require more money than most people can afford. Thus, selling the vision to investors and getting them on board can be critical to your success.
- Advisers — It’s human nature for people to want to help others, and one of the cheapest and most effective things an entrepreneur can do is sell advisers on how they’ll add value to the business while earning a sense of satisfaction for themselves by giving back.
Here’s a little secret just between you and me: practice selling the vision to everyone, not just people that fit in those categories. I’ve found it invaluable to give my pitch to random people because they will ask certain questions or tell related stories that I can then incorporate into my pitch going forward. It’s a way of getting a more complete picture by seeking out different perspectives. Just as Malcolm Gladwell posits in the book Outliers that you need 10,000 hours of experience to master something, my theory is that you need to give your pitch 100 times before you’ll have compelling stories with memorable hooks for your audience. Try it — you won’t be disappointed.
Selling the vision is the number one skill entrepreneurs don’t spend enough time perfecting. Now, go work on your pitch!
[Photo: PinkMoose on Flickr]
