Sales is NOT a four letter word!

I recently had “1 New Idea” myself.  It’s called STL Sales U and it’s really for anyone who has ever been interested in sales, anyone who has ever questioned if they would be good in sales, anyone who is in a sales position now, but wants to learn how to do it better or just anyone who wants to know more about the selling process.

I came up with STL Sales U because being a salesperson myself, I’ve always been interested in “the art of selling” and the whole sales process. It’s amazing to me that there are no courses offered in college (or anywhere else for that matter) where you can acquire the skills and strategic thinking necessary to become a great salesperson.  I’ve hired a lot of salespeople for my various companies and I truly believe sales is a great career and selling, once you understand it, is easy, comes naturally and most of all, is fun (while hopefully making good money in the process)!

Join us for a meetup for STL Sales U on Tuesday, April 26th. We want to find out what others are interested in learning about sales, share ideas and network with others interested in sales!

Meet Up STL Sales U

Time to clean the boat!!

Well it’s that time of year again. For us boaters, this time of year brings with it the anticipation of warm summer days on the lake at the helm of our boats. But before we can get out on the lake with our family and friends there is work to be done. Yes , every spring we have to get the boat ready for show. Now, most days I would avoid these task around the house , putting off any semblance of getting out the cleaning equipment. But not when it comes to my boat. I relish the thought of spending hours and hours rubbing the winter film off her , shining up all the chrome and waxing her to a brilliant finish. In fact, I even have an iTunes mix called “cleaning the boat” that I blast while I’m lost in my world of bringing her back to summer shape. Most people would find this type of behavior odd or even a little obsessive. But hey wait I am an entrepreneur, I’m used to spending time doing what most people would not. It’s just this kind of passion for something that drives us entrepreneurs to spend hours and hours of our time working on our ideas. We don’t mind the hours behind the computer tuning up our business plans or cleaning up our presentations. We don’t mind the days and days of painstakingly working our ideas and selling them to promote our business. We spend countless hours doing what most people would dread because we are waiting for our own summer day to proudly display our new idea to everyone. And it’s just that type of dedication to an idea and the work involved that makes us entrepreneurs a little odd and obsessive. But it’s also the reason that when people see you with your new idea or business or shiny new boat you will also be just a little envied.

www.1newidea.com

Going it alone could be your biggest mistake!

Every entrepreneur starts out  fighting fiercely to protect and control every single aspect of their idea.  They are very skeptical to share their idea or let anyone very close.  It’s a natural tendency to want to protect your idea and retain ownership of every part of it. There are usually two things a young entrepreneur won’t share, information on their business idea and ownership in their company.  Unfortunately, that’s where most entrepreneurs will FAIL!  Almost every company that is successful can usually point to a time or place where they took on partnerships or investors to get them to the next level.  It’s very hard to be good at every single facet of business.  When I started my first company I thought I could do it all.  And for a while, I was doing it all, BADLY.  It’s hard to be out selling your new idea, dealing with employee problems, working with the bank and doing the books all by yourself.  It wasn’t until I took on a partner to help with the running of the company, that I truly saw the benefits of giving up part of the company to make it grow.  The company grew quickly once I was able to  focus on my strengths of sales and customer acquisition, absent the worries of the books and employee problems.  I also enjoyed having someone in the fight with me, we were building a business and depending on each other to reach our goals of being successful entrepreneurs.  I gave up 50% of  the company to bring on a partner and it was the best decision I ever made, because in the end the part I still owned, was worth so much more.

www.1newidea.com

Entrepreneur Lessons from American Idol

Most blogs I read on business matters are filled with high level pontificating on business acumen, strategies and practices, etc.  Becoming an entrepreneur takes more  than the debits and credits of business.  This struck me as I watched the latest week of competition on American Idol.  This week was the big cut from 24 contestants down to 13.  They started with 125,000 young, motivated people, some with lots of natural talent, others with some talent and lots of determination and some with absolutely no god given talent but a belief that they were great.  Does any of this look familiar?  These people were all entrepreneurs.  Their unique new product idea was quite simply themselves.  The world of becoming an entrepreneur is exactly the same,  and the lessons we can learn are even more surprising.  In the world of entrepreneurs, there are always going to be those who have a natural talent for business, the ones it seems can do no wrong and always make the right decision.  Just as there are a group of entrepreneurs that will make it because they have some talent paired with desire and hard work.  But the group I envy most are the ones who have no real business talent or even the slightest concept of how to handle payables and receivables, the ones who have a hard time finding their way to the office, much less developing a business plan.  But, they have an amazing unshakable inner belief in their idea that absolutely no one can diminish. They have the will and desire to succeed even when told by countless people their idea will fail.  Just as in American Idol, there are lots of people who were told they were no good and could never entertain people for a living.  Take a lesson from those people who leave the audition with no one on their side, who look into the camera with conviction and belief in themselves and say, “They are wrong.  They don’t get me.  I will be a success.”  On the road to becoming a succesful entrepreneur you’re going to get told it won’t work and that you should just give up.  If you can look into the camera of life and say just watch me, you will succeed!

www.1newidea.com

On the way down the road of success, don’t forget to enjoy the ride!!!

There is something unique about most entrepreneurs, they want to win NOW.  It permeates every waking hour of an entrepreneur’s time.  It drives them to always strive for more.  This energy and drive is what makes an entrepreneur different from most people, it’s what allows them to continually fail in their attempts while never giving up.  For successful entrepreneurs, this constant drive to reach their goals will most likely pay off with success.  However, that same drive to succeed so fast could also leave you with a very hollow feeling at the end of most days.  The problem with always going as fast as you can to check goals off your list is that you may never feel like you’re achieving anything substantial.  I try to remind entrepreneurs to look around and see what you have already done.  Most entrepreneurs are living each day striving for tomorrow instead of looking around and enjoying some of the success today.  It’s ok to stop and enjoy some of what you have achieved.  Your big victories are made up of many smaller ones.  Enjoy each one and let it recharge your efforts.  Remember, being an entrepreneur allows you to drive the bus as fast as you want.  You might find a lot more satisfaction if every once in a while, you let off the gas, look out the window and enjoy the ride.

www.1newidea.com

Attended the Ideabounce at Wash U .Skand

Attended the Ideabounce at Wash U .Skandalaris Center tonight. 20 passionate entrepreneurs putting their ideas on the line. great stuff!!

www.1newidea.com

Sometimes to Make Money You Have to Give it Away for Free!

When I talk with a new entrepreneur, one of the first things they want to show me is how they will make money selling their idea. They will run spreadsheet after spreadsheet comparing units sold at this price or that.  But, all those numbers are pure fantasy.  Unless there is an existing product or service with very defined price structures, there really is no way to guess at a price point or for that matter any real demand for your new idea.

The best way to gauge the success of your new idea is to give it away to the potential customer.  Yes Give it Away!  Now stop squirming in your chair.  I know what you’re thinking, how can you just give away your hard-earned idea that you have put so much time, money and energy into.  I mean you have spreadsheets that tell you someone will pay a certain price for your product or service.  If it’s in the spreadsheet it has to be true, right? WRONG!

The best way to position your new idea is to get potential customers using it fast giving you an actual real test market.  This allows you to change and tighten up your idea in real-time.  It gives you instant feedback and built-in testimonials.  Now, here is the best part!!  When you give this idea to a prospective client your only agreement with them is that if it works you get to share in the profits.  A true revenue share is really a no risk 50/50 partnership with the client.  It has no barrier to entry, no real risk for either party and if it succeeds, everybody wins.  Once you hit a few home runs with a revenue share test market, then you will have a true sense of the value, demand and price point of your idea.  And you just might make some really good money in the process.

www.1newidea.com