How to Sell… From Products to Ideas

Let’s face it: you’ve asked yourself, is my idea worth millions and shouldn’t everyone be knocking on my front door to buy? However, if you asked anyone else, they would be understandably skeptical. You might have the biggest idea since Facebook, but it isn’t worth the $300 billion until you can get someone to pay for it. So how do you get there? It’s not easy. It takes the proper attitude to sell your idea. If it were easy, anyone could do it. There have been hundreds of thousands of excellent, game-changing ideas that never saw the light of day because the owner didn’t know where, or how, to start selling. Conversely, hundreds of thousands of mediocre ideas have made people insanely wealthy because the owner was a selling savant. Here’s where to start…

Attitude

The right attitude is everything. The two most important characteristics of a good seller are confidence and passion. Be able to talk about your idea for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and say it with the same excitement and vigor that drives you to pursue your idea. What if you’re an introvert, you say? Well, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone. As previously mentioned, you would like for people to come to you; however, that is far from realistic. Exude pride and confidence in your idea. Be able to talk to strangers about your idea so much they want to invest in earplugs instead of your idea. Put yourself in the receiver’s shoes: would you want to buy anything from someone who doesn’t seem to entirely stand behind their own product?

Expertise

Become an expert in your product and the market in which it resides. Know the ins and outs, know the answer to every conceivable question someone may ask, know its strengths and especially its limits — the good and especially the bad. Ask yourself, “Who am I trying to sell this to?” and then ask those people “Would you buy this?” Getting direct feedback from your target audience allows you to perfect the idea or product by making small, well-received, adjustments. This exercise can be the difference maker and one that many creators don’t like to budge on. Don’t be stubborn about considering advice from the people you want to sell your product to.

Handling rejection

Rejection is inevitable. It’s your job to know how to deal with it. Winston Churchill famously said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Bill Gates failed before Microsoft, Henry Ford went bankrupt before the success of the company that bears his name, and no one wanted anything to do with Walt Disney’s ideas at first. Yes, these are big time names, but smaller examples of this happen every day. Be okay with rejection, embrace the feedback and work even harder. You aren’t being realistic with yourself if you think the very first version of your idea is the one that will sell. Don’t be afraid of change. Maybe you need to downgrade in scale so you can raise the money to go after the bigger ideas further down the road. GrowthLab can help you manage your strategy and financial operations so you can plan for your future endeavors.

Making the sell

Once you have combined the right attitude with the right expertise, and you are okay with being turned away, the last step is to make the sell. When you are ready to present your idea, keep in mind these five key concepts…

1. Come prepared. This means looking presentable, bringing all relevant material to your pitch, and doing extensive research on your prospective buyer.
2. Get comfortable. Just because you’ve recited the pitch 100 times doesn’t give you the excuse to sound like a robot. Practice your pitch in front of friends and family.
3. Keep it short and sweet. Do not ramble, do a lot of listening and save time for questions.
4. Know how to answer the hard questions. Ask friends to give constructive feedback and know how to respond well to it. Nothing is more of a business turn-off than when you have no clue how to answer a good question.
5. Show interest in the prospective buyer. Leave a business card and remember to touch base in the future. Showing your commitment might spark theirs.

So take your idea, present it to everyone with all the confidence in the world, and when you get rejected, don’t be discouraged, and keep trying until you get what you want…