Nice post by VC Ed Sim on how a start-up should think about competitive dynamics when a big gorrilla enters the market. I would boil it all down to one word: focus. If you can convince a prospect that you will maintain extraordinary focus on their needs then you’ve taken care of the biggest selling point. Now it’s about convincing them that you’re credible (and won’t go out of business!).
Talking Slow = Credibility in Sales Presentation
No one likes talking to a “salesman” in the conventional sense because most people’s first thoughts are a fast-talking guy who will say Yes to everything and is just there to get your money. Be it insurance on the phone or enterprise software in-person, it is critical to counter this stereotype. In my opinion this is most easily done by saying everything at half-speed. In a big sales pitch, adrenaline will be running, the spotlight will be on you, so if you keep telling yourself to speak at half-speed, it will come out at normal speed. This was my early struggle because I feared dead time – that is the moment of silence in a meeting when no one is talking, I’ve later learned that that moment of silence after a key point is critical for the audience to reflect and internalize when you’ve said – therefore things came out a million miles per hour. Also, talking super-fast screams “geek” and when you’re trying to sell anything tech to a non-tech person, you want to do as much as possible to be “one of them.”
Voicemail Technology Just Sucks
Sitting in a meeting this evening with some prospects we were talking about Comcate’s case-management technology when it comes to emails or logged phone calls (and our partnerships with IVR firms) and we got off on a tangent about how voicemail technology really just sucks. There’s nothing I hate more than hearing I have 3 new voicemail messages and having to sit through each of them, press 7 to delete or 9 to save, and then waiting for the next one. Even worse is when you pull up old voicemails and have to listen through tons of messages just to get the one you want.
Bottom line – I want all my voicemails converted to email-able sound bites that I can sort and listen to in my email client. Automatically.
Statistically Improbable Phrases in Amazon.com
Just saw this feature on Amazon called “Statistically Improbable Phrases.” This is brilliant.
Amazon.com’s Statistically Improbable Phrases, or “SIPs”, show you the interesting, distinctive, or unlikely phrases that occur in the text of books in Search Inside the Book. Our computers scan the text of all books in the Search Inside program. If they find a phrase that occurs a large number of times in a particular book relative to how many times it occurs across all Search Inside books, that phrase is a SIP in that book.
Renewing My Effort at Full Engagement: Values
As the stress level starts to increase for me this spring (along with busyness) I am determined to make a renewed effort at implementing the philosophies outlined in The Power of Full Engagement and its Corporate Athlete Training System. For those who haven’t read the book:
Objective: Perform in the storm. Build the necessary capacity to sustain high performance in the face of increasing demand.
Central Conclusion: Energy is the fundamental currency of high performance. Capacity is a function of one’s ability to expend and recover energy; every thought, feeling, and action has an energy consequence; energy is the most important individual and organizational resource.
- Full engagement relies on skillful management of four interrelated dimensions of energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
- To build capacity, we must push beyond our normal limits, training in the same systematic way that elite athletes do.
- Lifelong Energy Objective: To burn as brightly as possible for as long as possible in the service of what really matters.
- Full engagement requires periodic strategic recovery (disengagement).
- Sustained high performance is best served by assuming the mentality of a sprinter, not a marathoner.
- Most of us are under trained physically and spiritually and over trained mentally and emotionally.
I am going to start with reflecting on values – a value in action is a virtue. What values do I strive to embody regardless of external pressures? Some common values are listed below. After reflecting on this, I will post my thoughts and the next step.
Authenticity Balance Commitment Compassion Concern for others Courage Creativity Empathy Excellence Fairness Faith Family Freedom Friendship Generosity Genuineness Happiness Harmony Health Honesty Humor Integrity Kindness Knowledge Loyalty Openness Perseverance Respect for others Responsibility Security Serenity Service to others