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What are you good at?

What are you good at?
If you listed 5 or more “talents” or “skills”, try again. What are you really good at? If you listed 3, try again. If someone was to remember you for this, what would that be? Did you say one thing, yet?
Think about someone you know. What’s s/he good at? Who else could you say is also good at that?
Now, what are you really good at? What distinguishes you from someone else who is good in something similar? What differentiates you from the 100’s, 1000’s of others who could be similar?
Can you tell anyone in the world what you’re good at simply and curtly? If you spend more than 15 seconds, try again.
This isn’t just practice. This is your brand. This is your strategy. Think about this for your business. Why should anyone care about you? Why should anyone buy from you? What will you do for the buyer?
Let’s try again: what are you good at?
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In Startups, Business Development Means Salespeople Are All Mini-Marketers

The worlds of sales and marketing are changing so much and so fast. With the explosion of technology over the last several years and the lower barriers to entry into starting businesses and the like, customers “have the power” – borrowing from the famous “Porter’s 5 Forces” (thank you, MBA!).
When I think about what I do, I don’t niche myself to sales or marketing or the other “business” aspects. I say I’m in Business Development. Breaking it down that’s “business” and “development”; as in, I develop business…  directly contributing to the growth of the business. So for me, sales and marketing, in particular, are just facets of what I do. Especially in my area of interest of technology and SaaS, lines blur but my general tactical and strategic tasks fall in business development.
Jon Birdsong, CEO of local Atlanta-based Rivalry, recently made the comment over dinner, “salespeople are mini-marketers”. He and I are in alignment that these days, salespeople are really becoming their own marketing machines especially as marketplaces are becoming inundated with products.
(My view is that the world will continue down this path till Buyers have so much power that they start dictating more niche products, thereby eating away at the potential profits. Cue: market exit and consolidation. You’re hearing it from me.)
Anyways, I recently spoke to a buddy of mine who runs several car dealerships, and I was sharing with him the marketing startup I’m currently more-or-less consulting with as a business development guy.  He spoke how they largely market on 3 tiers, at least for his major brand:
  • Tier 1 – The Brand’s National (or international) campaigns. What’s happening nationally? This is all brand-based, and it’s necessarily to drive people into dealerships. Think: Superbowl commercials.
  • Tier 2 – The Brand’s Regional campaigns. This can be regional like the Southeast, or more local-driven like campaigns for Atlanta-area dealerships. These campaigns do try to bring in consumers down the funnel.
  • Tier 3 – The Dealership-Level campaigns. These can be specific commercials or even print media (print? Yes, print) to drive consumers to a specific dealership.

In startups and in particular for business development, I don’t necessarily think I’ve operated in more than two tiers so far. Again, I’m waiting for one of the startups to go big… we’ll get there! However, these are some major efforts where we’ve played in the tiers.
  • Building the brand (Tier 1). With Body Boss, we eventually wanted to go into B2C after more traction in the B2B space, but we consistently published material like blogs, social media posts, and the like to establish ourselves as thought leaders and connectors in strength and conditioning.
  • PR in startups (Tier 1). It’s highly doubtful our target audience of strength coaches were going to be visitors to design and creative websites like awwwards.comor were going to visit techno-blogs like nibletz.com. However, we wanted to continue to build our brand even in those spaces – you never know who knows who. All that, of course, should be secondary to driving PR in the relevant industry of your target audience. Reaching out to the experts and connectors (like major publications, LinkedIn groups, professional organizations) will be the primary tool for PR in driving your brand’s existence to then drive sales.
  • SEO and SEM for drive inbound marketing (Tier 1/2). – This is kind of a mix, but the general thought here is that especially with technology, the world is “local” or at least “regional”. The most important element is driving potential consumers into and further down the sales funnel. This is where good content like through blogging and guest writing experts can lead many in.
  • Tradeshows and conferences (Tier 2). If you can obtain a list of the conference attendees, you can send out a nice little message that can be more of your larger campaign (maybe Tier 1). Otherwise, on the conference floor, your goal is to introduce your brand to everyone there who could be interested in your offering. I love these for many reasons, but in general, if done right, you can get a lot of people started and down your funnel quick. Your drive shouldn’t be to make the sale then and there, but to set up an appointment later.
  • Business Developers/ Salespersons (Tier 2/3). I was tempted to just write salespeople because that’s in many ways the goal here, right? To make sales? Make money? Anyways, as a sales person, I’m constantly making cold calls and emails (and tweets, etc.). My method is very different than that of my CEO’s, so for me, I can definitely see the “dealership-level” type of strategy where I’m creating my smaller marketing initiatives aligning with the larger brand’s, and then trying to get prospects in the door. And hopefully, a handshake to move forward, of course.
  • Random pitches (Tier 1/2/3). Okay, so maybe not the formal definition of “pitches”, but everytime you walk out your door and speak about your company, you’re doing some marketing activity. Sometimes, it’s a complete stranger who sees your shirt and is intrigued – could he/ she be a potential buyer? Maybe someone with a good connection? Or maybe even an investor? You never know who you’re going to meet.

Salespeople are quickly becoming marketing gurus in themselves, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. In fact, I see more salespeople becoming more and more critical to not only drive new business, but to maintain these relationships beyond the first sale in this increasingly fragmented, saturated market of technology and SaaS companies. And with the cut-throat, perhaps negative light most people see or hear “salespeople”, I definitely prefer the moniker of “Business Development”.
As a business grower and developer, I’m constantly refining my marketing message to drive more interesting conversations with potentials, and then using sales techniques to convert latent needs into more active needs. In startups, as a business developer, you’ll need to work and think on all 3 tiers when it comes to development.
What are your thoughts on sales and marketing for startups? How do you operate in 3 or more (or less) tiers?
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Practicing Biz Dev Whenever, Wherever… For Instance On Match.com

Source: http://nataliethecoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/9395228324_036aa68eab_o.jpg
So this is kind of funny… you’re about to read a blog post about online dating from my past and current experience. This is going to fun to share.
With the recent announcement about Body Boss, I’ve been gathering my thoughts to figure out my Next Move. While doing so, I’ve also jumped into the online dating pool. (Shh, don’t judge me.) When I’ve told this to others, people are really, really curious why I’m on there. I’m not sure if that means people don’t think the internet would embrace a virtual me or because I’m so great in real life (“IRL” for you non-online dating folk). I’m hoping the latter.
In any case, I’m finding myself applying so many of the entrepreneurial ninja skills to work on my Match profile. I thought it’d be fun to blog about. It’s funny because business (relationship) development in this case is much different than approaching coaches and a lot more attractive for the most part.
So what are some take-aways? Let’s go.
The layout of your marketing campaign! (Yeah, I’m going to show you my profile… c’mon now.)
  • First, online dating apps are like sales channels. Why am I on an online dating site? Because I’m expanding my “sales” channel of me. I’m giving myself web presence in addition to the brick-and-mortar version of me. It allows me to expand my audience to those I may have difficulty (or never) reaching.
  • Skin-in-the-game is good. That is, in a product/ service setting of a startup, free trials/ models by themselves allow subscribers the ease to stop using your product. Likewise in online dating, free apps lower the bar for people to join which is good, but more often than not, those members don’t have any pull to really pursue a real relationship. Thus, joining a paid model helps weed out the non-serious members.
  • You are what you’re marketing. I’m not selling a SaaS product or an app. Instead, I’m selling myself to the ladies online. Sadly, like a bootstrapped startup, I’ve got limited funds/ skills so my pictures probably aren’t the best. I have to work on that. However, the basic principles of marketing are the same in that every picture, every line you write has to have a purpose to attracting your market.
  • Quality over quantity – simplicity is golden. In online dating, you’re trying to get a member to write you a message, or to respond to your own, with the goal of going offline for a meeting. Like a good slick for marketing your startup, don’t state every benefit in the world and feature to your customer. In online dating, state only the most pertinent information that would entice a member.
  • Customer discovery is fun but can get weird. You can watch how your “number of views” or “winks” counts change after you implement changes (geez, I wish I could do A/B testing), but in the end, you can also solicit someone like a friend who represents your target market, and get feedback. Just remember that like in a real startup, you’re looking for honest communication where partners aren’t shy to tell you what they like/ don’t like.
  • Know your target market – who’s in, who’s out. One thing I learned early on with Body Boss is that I have to accept some coaches were not ready for technology or interested, in general. There are just some who will not buy what you’re selling, and that’s okay. As they say, there are plenty other fish in the sea.
  • Don’t forget the Call-to-Action. Most online dating sites have a CTA for you in the form of a blue button that reads, “Email her now!” However, you can also help a reader start a conversation with a simple question like asking where would she go anywhere in the world tomorrow given nothing to stop her, or in my case, a simple WINK and I’ll start the conversation. (I think of this like a turn-key sign-up process where I’ll help you get started.)

Obviously online dating is not a startup. For one massive reason, I’m not looking for multiple customers. That’d be weird and terrible. So far, it’s been a fun experiment online with this new perspective of being a more seasoned entrepreneur. Now, I just have to attract the right partner… And to the point about the target market, I have to do a good job as a marketer/ sales person to make it like I’m the best product for the reader.

What are your thoughts about online dating or dating in general as it could relate to startups and business?  
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