For a small, unknown business it is nearly impossible to make a sale to a visitor that has no previous relationship with you.

In most cases a visitor will need to come back several times over a period of days or weeks before they are ready to buy. Every time they leave there is a good chance they will forget you. Instead of pushing an unlikely sale, make it easy for them come back.

The Number One Goal of Your Website is to Turn New Visitors into Prospects, Not Customers

The primary call to action should be asking for an email address. An email address turns a visitor into a prospect and allows you to begin building a relationship.

When you have a relationship and mind share you will be the first choice when they are ready to buy. Even prospects that don’t buy from you may become your advocates and recommend you to others.

When you are working with your mind, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and ineffective—even without a full calendar.

Energy Management is at Least as Important as Time Management

Be aware of how each activity affects your energy levels. Strategically space out the activities you find invigorating with those that are draining.

Bringing some basic structure to your energy management can help you unleash energy you never knew you had.

If you want someone to comply with a request, getting them to say no can be a good start.

A Small Request is 3 Times More Likely to be Granted if a Larger Request is Made First

This behavior is the result of two powerful principles.

The rule of reciprocity means that people have a natural tendency to make a concession to someone who has made a concession to them. If someone declines to comply with a larger request, countering with a smaller request is seen as a concession. When this concession is offered, people feel obligated to reciprocate with a concession of their own.

The second principle this taps into is contrast. The lesser request appears even smaller when it is compared to a larger request.
– From The Startup Daily

When your employees are there because of where you are going, you will have a problem every time you need to change direction. It’s better to hire employees who will join based on the strength of the team.

Get the Right People in the Right Positions First

Hire outstanding people wherever you find them, and hold them to the highest standards, even before you focus on vision, strategy, tactics, and goals. The right people will be self-motivated and manage themselves, leaving leadership free to lead. When you have the right people the rest takes care of itself.

Every moment spent ensuring you get the right person in the right position up front is worth weeks or even months down the road.

Don’t just tell people about the benefits of your offering. Give them proof.

A Customer Story is the Strongest Proof You Can Offer

Clearly demonstrate how an existing customer has experienced a tangible gain from using your product.

People are more likely to accept a solution if others like them have already accepted that same solution. The more the customer in your story shares in common with your potential buyer, the more persuasive this will be.

Prove It
July 18, 2011Volume #142
Don’t just tell people about the benefits of your offering. Give them proof.

A Customer Story is the Strongest Proof You Can Offer

Clearly demonstrate how an existing customer has experienced a tangible gain from using your product.

People are more likely to accept a solution if others like them have already accepted that same solution. The more the customer in your story shares in common with your potential buyer, the more persuasive this will be.

Whether you recognize it or not, your company has a culture. The question is, is it working for you or against you?

Successful Business Cultures are Purposefully Designed to Foster the Goals of the Organization

Culture grows with the organization.

A small effort towards getting the culture right early on will have a huge payoff as the business grows. However, a bad culture that has been allowed to take root will become increasingly more difficult to repair and can slowly poison an organization.
– From The Startup Daily

The first automobiles were noisy, expensive, and required constant maintenance. The early Internet was not very useful. The first mobile computing devices were extremely limited and barely mobile.

Don’t Judge the Significance of a New Innovation by the Quality of Early Implementations

To properly gauge the potential of a new technology, you must see past the flaws in early versions.

Ask yourself what this experience might look like if it was 10x faster, smaller, cheaper, or better.
– From The Startup Daily

Without a name, strategies, decisions, and behaviors are abstract concepts. But when names are attached, complex situations such as “bait and switch”, “superiority complex”, or “Achilles’ heel” are instantly understood.
– From The Startup Daily

To Dramatically Improve Your Understanding of a Situation, Give it a Name

Names help us learn, make sense of, and take control of a situation. The framework provided by a name improves our ability to quickly recognize and respond to that situation in the future.

Nobody wants to follow someone who has a habit of spreading gloom.
People Turn to Leaders for Optimism—and They Turn to The Optimistic for Leadership

Try to see find the positive in any situation, and share it with others.

Even small improvements in your attitude will have a noticeable impact on those around you. Figure out the little things that make you feel good and build them into your daily routine.

– From The Startup Daily

75% of your efforts on the web should be off of your own site.
It’s Not What You Say, It’s What Others Say About You

Whatever your business, there are social networks, blogs, and forums where your target market is already spending time. Contribute to these communities, and you will create roads leading back to your own site.

A company’s web site should be a hub. The more connections to your hub, the more visible you will be.
– From The Startup Daily