Twitter Success: Presentation + Adapting to the market

Watch this video by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and pay attention to what he describes over a few minutes starting at the 10:55 mark. He explains how the common features of Twitter actually came from users - not the company.



Message: Pay attention to what your customers are doing with your product/service.

Also, his presentation style shows how you can be quite reserved, yet still engaging as long as your audience is connecting with you. (Know your audience). Only a handful of PowerPoint slides used, mainly to show things he cannot put into words.

However his reserved presentation style may seem slow (possibly painful) to some people, as witnessed by comments on the video page.

He starts off a bit nervous (note a slight hesitation and few umms) but then settles in for a relaxed 'conversation' with the audience.

In this brief video interview Dan Martin from Business Zone (UK) talks with Tony Wheeler, the founder of the Lonely Planet travel guides.

Tony mentions some helpful points about the serendipitous start soe businesses make; the advice he received from his MBA mates; and how to perservere.

Interview with Richard Branson - the man behind the stunts

Richard Branson is an enigma. He appears to be outlandish, with his wild business stunts. But when you see him in normal conversation he really is much quieter - and even suffers from dislexia. Watch this Richard Branson interview for some business inspiration.

Lessons From The Deck Chair #2: People Don't Follow Directions - and what you can do about it.

[ Read Lessons From The Deck Chair #1 here ]

On an individual basis I bet you think you’re pretty good at following instructions.

After all, it doesn’t sound hard to simply follow a sign or basic directions, does it?

But alas… people often don’t pay attention to what they have been told, even when it is in their own interests to do so.

Why?

Maybe it’s because they get distracted with what they want to do. Maybe they’re doing something new to them, their mind is fully occupied, and they can’t take in more information.

End result… they lose focus and don’t concentrate on ‘following the directions’.

Let me give you a few examples I’ve observed on the cruise ship.

1) A young guy (old enough to know better) was sitting next to me in the computer lounge using the internet. When he finished he explained, ‘Wow, they just charged me $60 for 45 minutes’. He turned to me and asked me if that sounded right, and to check with how long I’d been there to give him some bearing on how long he had been online. He should have read the instructions and pricing plans which are clearly displayed on the screen when you log on. I guess he was using the casual rate which is much higher than buying a package of time.

2) Every time the ship enters port an announcement is made not to take foodstuffs from the ship onto shore. It’s against quarantine regulations. This announcement is made every time before you disembark. And there are signs near the gangway as well. But some people still get stopped at the security check and have to go through the hassle of having their bags checked and foodstuffs removed.

3) Playing Bingo is fun and easy – as I mentioned in the last issue. (In fact Peter from our dinner table group reckons you only need two neurons to play it.) However there are regular situations where players get confused, or don’t follow the directions for each game. As a result there are false calls of “bingo”. This is usually good – as it creates some fun as the player making the false call undergoes a little well-intentioned embarrassment, and play continues... so you still have a chance to win!

4) In many ports a shuttle bus service is provided to take passengers from the ship to the nearby town (sometimes it can be 2 to 5 kilometres away). Prior to reaching the port announcements are made on how to obtain shuttle bus tickets from the Tour Desk. However, many people still disembark without tickets and create confusion and a delay in the queue on the dock to reach the shuttle bus. If everyone obtained their tickets in advance the whole process would be so much easier and less stressful when disembarking.

Anyway, that’s enough about the real-life examples.

What does this mean for you and your business development activities?

Never assume your client (or prospect) will follow your directions the first time.

• On your website give multiple opportunities to take action.


• In sales discussions, always repeat key points.


• In your marketing, repeat key messages across your various promotional activities.


• Send a written summary to prospects after important sales meetings.


• Follow up with clients by phone, email, or letter to check they have acted on your instructions.


• Use a series of automated follow up emails to remind and prompt clients to use the information provided, or download the report you have offered.

Show a picture to make it easier for people to take action.

• On websites use a ‘click here’ style of graphic or image. Use a larger image for the most important action. (Note: research shows this works better than having all buttons on the web page the same size.)


• Use a sales process chart to explain to your prospects how you will work with them, and emphasise what they will need to do.


• Use a step-by-step guide to using your products or services – show clients what they should do next.


• Emphasise what not to do, or emphasise your point of difference, by using a simple graphic – remember the Ghostbusters logo, a ghost with the familiar red line through it (Ghostbusters = no ghosts).

Give examples of what to do.

• Relate stories about other client to create a vivid picture of what needs to be done (and why).
• Provide options for what clients can do, and give examples of when or why they would choose each option.

It would be wonderful if our prospects and clients carefully followed our instructions first time around.

But don’t expect it to happen that way. Anticipate the need to repeat your message. And use different mediums wherever possible such as images, spoken, and written words.

If you want to maximise your success pay attention to how you can help your prospects become clients, and how you can help current clients use more of your services or products.

Never assume they will act on the first message.

Lessons From The Deck Chair #1: Get Uncomfortable to Grow

Lessons From The Deck Chair #1:
Being Comfortable Is Not Always Productive

When you think of being on a cruise ship, what comes to mind? Maybe having drinks at the bar; onshore excursions; being pampered; or lazy days in a deck chair!

But it's not all that easy. Being on a cruise ship can be confronting. Everyday there are challenges to overcome.

Unless you stay in your stateroom for the entire journey you have to come face-to-face with new experiences, new challenges.

(I know... I know... some of you will be thinking "that's the point of travelling isn't it, to have new experiences"... but stay with me here)

One thing I have reflected on during the cruise is the fact that without stepping up, and stepping out of your comfort zone, you will never get the progress and success you are seeking. You will never learn and never grow.

Sound a bit heavy for deck chair thinking? Let me explain...

If you're not familiar with dinner 'sittings' on cruises, there are often two sittings - an early and a late sitting.

At each sitting it is commonplace for you to be seated with a group of other passengers. Fellow travellers who are completely unknown to you. You may be on a table of eight, with quite a few people you have never seen before - not even onboard.

And... it is expected you will converse with these strangers while dinner is served!

= = =
Think about it... how often would you walk into your favourite restaurant, sit down with a table of strangers, and start talking to them about their day, about their family, and ask "where else have you travelled"?
= = =

But on a cruise you can, and will, do this.

And once you take the leap into engaging with strangers you will be rewarded with learning about them, what they have done, and what you might be able to do too. You will make friends with some, and discover others you don't really mesh with. That's life.

However, you can never go back and undo the learning - you can't remove the experience.

Also, on the ship there is a variety of food available. Food from countries that you would not usually eat - things that seem strange and foreign. But once you try a few dishes you develop a taste for adventure, for trying more new dishes as they are offered.

You start to lose your fear of the unknown. Your boundaries expand. And you learn from that experience.

Life on board also gives you the chance to try activities you would not normally participate in, like playing bingo, which is great fun... even if you are under 75 years of age. It is such a simple, fun game made all the better by an experienced and entertaining caller who announces the numbers with humour and a great sense of comic timing, like "number 8, two fat ladies, number 8".

(I must confess. I developed an early liking for bingo. My parents used to take us to the local bingo games during summer holidays on the NSW central coast.)

The lesson here is that if, in your business or selling activities, you don't try new ways of doing things you will find it very difficult to achieve greater success.

I can tell you now, not everything you try will work out well. Just like trying an unknown dish at the restaurant - you may not like the results every time.

But you learn and move on. Making progress towards your goals.

Staying in your comfort zone may be easy, but it's not always productive.

3 Lessons From Business Survivors

According to a study done by the Small Business Administration (USA), two-thirds of all new small business survive the first two years but only 44% will still be operating by year four.

Here are three very important lessons from business owners who have survived, from an article in Business Week:

Lesson #1 - Recycle money early.
"during the crucial first years I learned you really always need to recycle money back into your business instead of taking money out of it. A new business needs to stay fresh..."

Lesson #2 - Diversfy your clients.
Rather than rely on one type of client for revenue, early on Niemeier decided to make sure he launched a firm with a diversified clientele working on educational, corporate, health care, and hospitality projects

Lesson #3 - Qualify and eliminate clients who don't 'fit'.
"But what I learned from that is that I really had to do a better job of screening and qualifying our prospective clients. Not everybody is a good client and when they don't pay their bills in a timely manner I realized we had to fire them."

Read the whole article.

Are You Preventing Your Own Success?

Are you standing in the way of your own success?

Do you set your goals so low - with a back-door planned - so you can escape the responsibility to make a commitment or achieve success?

I was reading a newsletter from Michael Port of Book Yourself Solid fame. He referred to the statistic that 80% of small businesses close within 5 years. He doesn't believe it's because of an overly competitive marketplace. He said...

I think 80% of business owners fail in the first 5 years because of one of two reasons. Either they haven’t made a non-reversible, do whatever it takes, no holds barred, beyond a shadow of a doubt, absolutely no going back, stick to it like super glue commitment to finishing what they start - to make their business work. Or, maybe they have. But, they haven't found a system that is proven to work so they can replicate it and succeed.

Recently I was speaking with a small business owner - another marketing consultant in fact. This lady is very experienced and switched on. She knows her stuff. I've known her for some years.

But in talking with her I perceived that her business success wasn't absolutely critical because she and her husband were well established. And her husband had a well-paid career.

This issue came up because my marketing consultant friend was wondering about setting revenue targets, and what to do for her own marketing activity.

I made the point to her that unless the revenue from your business is 'essential' to your personal situation it is easy to become too relaxed and not really commit to doing what needs to be done.

Developing a small business into a sustainable revenue stream is hard work. You need to be persistant. You need to learn. Only a rare few have a 'dream run' and reach their targets easily.

What I'm suggesting here is to take a reality check...

** Are you doing what you're doing to develop a serious business?

** Or, are you doing what you're doing as a part-time occupation, never really expecting it to take your full commitment?

Either decision is OK... just be realistic about what you expect to achieve.

Then make sure you put in the appropriate effort to learn, try, test, learn again.

Success > Receivership > Then more success... See how Poppy did it.

Remember Poppy King... and her lipsticks. An Australian success at 19 years old. $5mill p.a. in sales. Out of business at 25.

Like many entrepreneurs (young and old) Poppy had a great idea but not enough business savvy.

This led to her having to sell her business, which never got back to the $5mill turnover it had during its heyday.

In this article from the Sydney Morning Herald Poppy explains what has happened since then to help her once again start her entrepreneurial empire.

Under a difference name. In a different country. But much wiser.

And it goes to show that true entrepreneurs often have a rocky road to their final destination. In Poppy's case she was offered a prestigious role at Estee Lauder to launch and run a new range. This helped her to reestablish herself, and regain confidence.

However being an employee in a corporate environment didn't suit her ambition and attitude.

So, now she's off onto her next project.

Bottom line - being an entrepreneur and business owner is certainly risky. Not everyone is a success. Not every idea is a winner. You need to have confidence and faith in yourself... and always be looking for opportunities to move forward.

The 6 Traits of Successful Business Leaders

Every business owner has their own set of challenges. However, an Ernst and Young study of over 200 global leader enterprises identified six fundamentals for any business to succeed and these included:

1. Managing risk;
2. Transactions and alliances;
3. Operational effectiveness;
4. Managing finance;
5. Customer recruitment;
6. People recruitment and retention.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that many successful business are founded by second-time-around entrepreneurs. It doesn't seem to matter whether the first business venture was successful or not. The fire to succeed and passion for their chosen industry is what drives entrepreneurs to be successful.

Find out more about the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2007 winners.

How to Successfully Develop Your New Idea.

Anyone who has had a new business idea - or an innovation they think is worth developing - will know about the range of responses they get from others. Everything from "that wont work"... to "why are you wasting your time"... to "that's fantastic, why hasn't anyone done that before".

In this article at BusinessZone UK, Anne Miller explains how to best manage the development of new ideas. She says...

Another dangerous psychological tendency is that we tend to overestimate both how common our opinions are and how unique our abilities are.

Importantly, Anne highlights the 4 stages of resistance shown by people when presented with new ideas. The first stage is when people act as though they are blind - as if they really can't see your idea.

Anne says this is normal. So we shouldn't be discouraged by it.

This article is worth reading as it gives us some ideas on how to be more independent, and objective, when developing new ideas.

The end result will be that the best ideas will survive - not the ones we are emotionally attached to.