Building My Startup with Refresh
How Refresh helps one startup founder build relationships as she builds her business
Our guest blogger this week is Refresh early adopter Melinda Byerley, CEO and Co-Founder of Vendorsi, a platform to help marketers choose the right software vendor, fast.
As a startup founder, I have to pitch my business to lots of strangers. Whether it’s a potential investor, employee, advisor, influencer, or customer, I have to build a relationship with someone who could have a big impact on Vendorsi, and I have to do it in an absurdly short amount of time, often in as little as 30 minutes.
As a bootstrapping founder I often have to meet those strangers in places like coffee shops, restaurants and occasionally bars. Have you ever had an Internet date? Do you remember that awkward feeling of trying to figure out if the person you’re meeting with is the person over there at the table? Well, that’s what meeting a potential business partner feels like.
Refresh has been stress relieving in these situations. I love having my meeting partner’s photo right in front of me when I’m in a crowded room. Whew. Awkwardness avoided!
Better still, though, Refresh compliments my personal style, which is transparent and human. Interacting with potential business associates from a place of sincerity has netted me fewer but more important contacts than the standard networking advice. Refresh is, for me, fast becoming a critical part of that strategy.
Here’s an example. Recently I had a lunch meeting with a really important influencer, someone whose support could transform our visibility. Maybe there are founders who never get nervous when so much is on the line, but I’m not one of them. Arriving early as I usually do, I had a few minutes to kill and Refresh alerted me that his dossier was available. Upon opening it I discovered a treasure trove of data about my meeting participant I hadn’t uncovered in my relentless pre meeting research. I discovered people we had in common, and was able to catch up on his social media posts, which generated fruitful and real time discussion about our shared interests.
The conversation that Refresh made possible opened the door for a long-term relationship. I didn’t have to waste time asking what could be perceived as intrusive questions; I knew what he would enjoy discussing. Refresh also offered some great insights about his personal tastes and I made it a point to engage him on the things we have in common. Ever since Dale Carnegie wrote “How to Win Friends and Influence People” this is the way we know to make real relationships, but never before did we have the information to do it in real time. Thanks to that meeting, this influencer is already having an impact on our company. More importantly, I felt more capable of assessing his true interest and commitment level once we could establish a level of trust and interaction that goes below the surface level of “what’s in it for me?”
Vendorsi is a company built on the trust given to us by our customers. As someone who thus prefers to do business with those I like and trust, Refresh makes it so much easier to build sincere relationships with those who can help me drive Vendorsi forward, and to identify ways I can return those favors.
A side benefit to pre meeting research is that you can avoid topics that may not be conducive to a good relationship. Your mom may have taught you never to discuss religion or politics, but if it’s obvious that you share those leanings, why not discuss them and have a sincere conversation? At the same time, you can avoid topics that may be off limits and avoid stepping into landmines that can kill the early seed that is a new relationship.
Lastly, the key to maintaining a newly nurtured relationship is follow up. Getting a ping in the cab ride home to write down notes and follow up actions ensures I can keep my promises and continue building the relationship that I started.
Really important people have someone who stands next to them in receiving lines, whispering vital facts about the next person: a spouse’s name, kids, interests, and when the two last spoke. Bill Clinton had a famously innate ability to simply remember all that information. For the rest of us, there’s Refresh.
Melinda Byerley is the CEO and Co Founder of Vendorsi, a platform to help marketers choose the right software vendor, fast. As a marketer for over 20 years, most recently as CMO of a Y Combinator tech startup, Melinda has been on the front line of buying marketing technology at all levels: from 6 figure ecommerce platforms to free social media tools.
Follow her on Twitter @mjb_sf and on Medium http://www.medium.com/@mjb_sf
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