Why Your Great Idea Sucks!
And what you can do about it.
“Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.” — Sue Grafton
When it comes to business, you’ve probably heard that the company with the greatest ideas and product features are at the top of the ladder. But what if I told you that it wouldn’t mean anything when it comes to running a successful business? There is one secret I can share with you that would explain why many businesses thrive in today’s competitive environment. Surprisingly, we practice this skill subconsciously almost everyday in our lives. This can include persuading your boss that you want a raise, trying to convince your parents for a new bike, and going on a romantic date!
Whether if it’s imposing our ideas on other people or selling ourselves for a good first impression — we are always trying to sell something or influence to others in any aspect of our lives. Sales is the most important factor in determining the success of any business, and without it, your great idea sucks! If you can’t sell anything, how do you expect your business to grow or survive?
For an example, let’s imagine that you are on a ghetto street that’s notable for its crime. You have two menacing bullies that pin you in a corner where you don’t have any route to escape. Naturally, it is our human instinct to defend ourselves by fighting back. What fighting is to a street fight, sales is to the world of competition in business. Just how a great idea looks amazing, a tough looking person cannot win in a street fight if he/she does not know how to fight. That is why I must stress the importance of execution/sales in any competitive environment. You must fully understand your opponent (customer) in order to persuade them to buy into your service or product. You got to be able to sell more than your competitors or those bullies will knock you straight out of business!
Like the great innovator Thomas Edison once said, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” Because execution is everything when it comes to business, the salesman is one of the most valuable assets in any company. These people understand their customers so well that any idea can be sold to anyone — good or bad. One great example that shows the importance of sales is Gary Dahl; one of the world’s successful entrepreneurs who developed the idea of selling a Pet Rock. Dahl collected ordinary rocks and packaged them in a pet carrier at a California bar. According to the United Press International, a well reputable international news agency, states that Dahl sold the product for $3.95 and became a millionaire practically overnight.
You may be wondering…Pet Rocks? How did that even sell? You see, a lot of us tend to think it’s always the best idea who wins in the game of business. But Dahl’s surprisingly silly idea that sold a million must of told us that he heavily understood the buying process and the customer — giving him a key advantage against his competitors or any other “great ideas”.
So Jimmy, how do I sell my “great idea” then?
The truth is, you can sell any idea! I don’t care if it’s good or bad — as long as you understand the importance of the human emotion when it comes to the sales process. In “Sales EQ”, by Jeb Blount, he states that in order to differentiate yourself from competitors and hold the short-lived attention span of distracted buyers, you need to be a master of emotions, interpersonal skills, influences frameworks, and human relationships. Forget about trying to sell people on product features and solutions because you will sound like every boring sales person out there. The traditional skill set of sales — understanding product knowledge, delivering an amazing pitch, and controlling the sales process is no longer effective in today’s rapidly growing society of technology. Buyers now have more autonomy of their buyer choices because of the influence technology gives us through social media and online distribution channels/e-commerce. Because of this, technology has been promoting a social standard that focuses on following trends and fitting into the norms in order to satisfy our emotions through subliminal psychological techniques.
Humans are extremely emotional beings that make every decision based on how we feel. Whether if it’s the desire for pleasure, avoidance of pain, or the fulfillment of our egos — the human mind is subconsciously making every decision and thought based off emotion. People will also justify their emotions through logic. We often rationalize, or tell ourselves “rational lies” in order to persuade our subconscious minds that what we are feeling is aligned with our values and beliefs when it comes to making decisions.
“Although I’m trying to save money, should I buy that dress? Nah, I’ll buy it for myself because I want to feel more confident and I deserve it after from working so hard yesterday. ”
Because the sales process is extremely irrational and is based entirely off emotion, businesses must understand that great ideas are meaningless without the work of a superior sales team who understands the customer and how human nature works. So next time you tell others about your “revolutionary idea”, don’t forget to remember that execution and sales is everything if you want to make your business go big.
