Selling While Planning the Business

How to build revenue to finance your startup

By William Keyser, Managing Director, WorkSavvy LLC

Successful entrepreneurs sell while they are still working on the fine detail of their business. It is very easy to convince yourself that you first need to raise money, find accommodation, do test marketing, buy specialist help, finish the prototype, build a perfect website or write a business plan.

It is not that these are bad things to be doing, but none is a reason to avoid selling, except in very rare cases. Even in those rare cases, you can pre-sell, pre-book or build a waiting list.

If you stop to think about it, all of these "gotta do it first" activities can only be enhanced by real live business contact, sales experience and customer feedback.

Build a Prospect Database

If you are starting a business you have a pretty good idea about those to whom you would like to sell. Be real. Develop a system for getting hold of actual names and addresses. Now, not later. Use every source at your disposal.
Try: collecting a list of names and contact details. This should be a perpetual habit. Be a prospect scavenger. Even when you are out and about, without a laptop, scribble the information on scraps of paper and fill the gaps when you get back to your desk. Make it a compulsion. No sales, no business.

Research Prospective Clients

Now that you have a list, select the names that you do not know and email them a questionnaire to test out some of your assumptions.
Try: doing this marketing research as you plan the business, but do it in a very practical way that will lead you directly to the market. It does not have to be complicated or extensive. If you use one of the free survey services, you can get a dozen questions answered by a hundred or so respondents. Keep the questions simple and offer an incentive for their reply. For instance, you could offer respondents a summary report of your findings. It does not need to be scientific, but make sure it is useful to them.The responses will give you excellent pointers for the next Action Step, as well as being directly valuable.

Call Potential Clients

Ask for their help. Tell them you want to check out your ideas about the needs of people like them. Describe your business idea. Ask them for feedback. Listen very carefully. Record what they say. Chances are that in the course of discussion they will reveal a sales opportunity. If they do, ask if they would like to discuss how you can meet their needs.They may reveal a pressing need. They may express interest in seeing the product, or trying the service. At the very least, they may be happy refer you to someone else.
Try: shining a light on your product, rather than keeping it under wraps until the launch. It is probably as well not to call those to whom you have sent a survey. Try to call one a day. My experience is that if you do this you will unearth a real prospect once a week. Yes, I am suggesting a one in five strike rate. That's my experience, anyway. Of course it depends upon knowing the kind of prospect you seek and that your product is well defined.

Go Back to the Business Plan

With all the data and sales opportunities that you have garnered from the real world, you will inevitably need to modify the business plan. What you will find is that you will restructure, rewrite and re-evaluate your business idea. Then surprisingly, you will realize that you need to go back to some more prospective clients and test out your new conclusions.
Try: being a ruthless editor of the business plan. Guy Kawsaki of Garage Technology Ventures tells you to keep the plan to no more than 30 pages. That's tough, but if you can manage it, you will discover the real core of the business and you will go back out to call on prospects with much more confidence.

Now Repeat the Cycle

Before you know it, your business will be up and running. Getting in touch with prospects several times a week during the planning stage of your startup will become more and more natural. Discipline yourself, even if you hate cold calling. Comfort yourself that you are doing research, rather than selling. This will give you a much more relaxed approach and you will hardly notice the transition from planning to doing.
Try: that you keep listening and learning. When you make your contact, be focused on the person at the other end of the line and his interests and concerns. Use Positive Inquiry.