Circle the Chairs
When you put the chairs in a meeting in a circle you increase audience participation. Circle the chairs to create a roundtable that breaks the “we talk, you listen” dynamic.
skmurphy
Q: How Much Attention Should I Pay To Potential Competition?
Instead of looking left and right for potential competition, I would walk around the table and look at the situation from your prospect’s perspective.
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Q: Can We Launch First and Ask Customer Discovery Questions Later?
Don’t do a big launch before you have get answers to your customer discovery questions or you are running a very expensive test of your key customer and market hypotheses.
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–April 2014
A collection of quotes of interest and use to entrepreneurs: these quotes for entrepreneurs were identified in April 2014.
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Recap of “How To Give a Great Demo” at CoFounders Club Wed-Apr-16-2014
I had a nice time at last night’s Cofounder Club. Dea Wilson, founder of Lifograph, invited me to talk about “Giving a Killer Demo.” We had a lively discussion upstairs at Procopio: starting with some introductions and then short demos by the attendees, then I gave a formal recap of the Great Demo methodology and how to apply
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–March 2014
You can follow @skmurphy to get these hot off the mojo wire or wait until these quotes for entrepreneurs are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you would like to have new blog posts sent to you.
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Building a Business Requires Building Trust
One of the hallmarks for success in a business-to-business market is the ability to form personal relationships as well as professional business relationships. Both require building trust. I am always dismayed when I read advice that advocates bait and switch or other forms of con games that erode trust and make it difficult for any
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Great Demo Workshop Attendee: “Holy Crap! My Demos Have Too Much Detail”
Great Demo Workshop Attendee: “Holy Crap! My Demos Have Too Much Detail” After every Great Demo! workshop we contact the attendees with a short E-Mail that reads in part: I want to check-in to see how you have been doing using the ideas and skills we covered in our Great Demo! Workshop three months ago.
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Learn How to Market Your Expertise March 25 in Sunnyvale
Whether you are a software startup or a consultant you have to convince prospects that you have the expertise to solve their problems by what you say, what you write, and what others say about you. This three hour workshop will outline a mix of proven marketing techniques for generating leads for your business. Attendees will
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Office Hours: Schedule Time To Walk Around Your MVP
Looking for advice on lead generation or closing deals? Schedule office hours to walk around your current situation or opportunity.
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Discovery Kanban Helps You Manage Risks and Options In Your Product Roadmap
Patrick Steyaert (@PatrickSteyaert) of Okaloa developed the Discovery Kanban model to manage risks and options in a product roadmap.
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Feeling Lucky Is Not a Strategy
Some startups just “go for it” and pursue their vision without any real strategy. In the same way that the losers are never interviewed after the lottery numbers are announced, press and pundits draw startup lessons by restricting their focus to the winners. It’s bullshit.
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Video from Lean Innovation 101 Talk at SF Bay ACM Nov-20-2013
Lean innovation models provide a scientific approach for creating and testing a product and developing a new business around it.
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IEEE-CNSV Panel Explores Engineering in Japan vs Silicon Valley Mon-Mar-3
IEEE-CNSV Panel Explores Engineering in Japan vs Silicon Valley Mon-Mar-3 I am helping to moderate a panel 7pm Mon-Mar-3 at IEEE-CNSV on “Innovation: Work and Life of the Engineer in Japan and Silicon Valley” The event takes place at Agilent Technologies, Inc. in the Aristotle Room, Bldg. 5 located at 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–February 2014
You can follow @skmurphy to get these hot off the mojo wire or wait until these quotes for entrepreneurs are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you would like to have new blog posts sent to you.
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Five Serious Financial Mistakes Bootstrappers Can Avoid
Five financial mistakes bootstrappers can avoid include financing with credit cards or high interest loans and taking on long term financial commitments like a lease or an employee too early.
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Make the Transition to Sales: Two Workshops For Entrepreneurs in March
I think the most difficult challenge in sales is maintaining an appropriate perspective and emotional distance from deals: balancing fear, greed, and frustration to maintain empathy and a clear understanding of business objectives. Some of the technologies employed in the sales process are changing rapidly but they impact the tactics, not the substance. Selling for
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Q: Resources For A Lean Approach to Sales, In Particular New Product Introduction
Q: We have started selling and are looking for resources for a lean approach to sales, in particular for new product introduction. Lean Approach To Sales at Lean Startup Conference 2012 Scott Sambucci and I presented a workshop at Lean Startup 2012 on “Engineering Your Sales Process.” The deck is posted at http://www.slideshare.net/SalesQualia/engineering-your-sales-process About 70%
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Getting More Customers Workshop on March 25, 2014
Let’s face it, finding customers can be quite a challenge. In this interactive workshop, we will cover a variety of proven marketing techniques for growing your business: attendees will select one or two that fit their style and develop a plan to implement them in their business in the next 90 days. Speaking – small
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Are You Using Realtime Shared Document Edit Tools? Let’s Compare Notes
We have been using wikis in our practice since 2004 and recently have starting using real-time shared document edit tools. Would like to compare notes on usage if you are interested.
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