5 Things You Should Never Say While Negotiating

We have accompanied and seen companies conduct their sales pitch - either for practice purposes or to close the deal. There are some words that, in our opinion, should not be used, for example, "Ours is the first in the world", "Ours is the best" and stuff like that. 

So, fellas, do check out for these taboo words that you should not use when selling / closing the deal.

Thanks to Mike Hofman via Inc.com

1. The word "between.", i.e. "I can do this for between $10,000 and $15,000." 

2. "I think we're close." 

3. "Why don't you throw out a number?" 

4. "I'm the final decision maker." Uhuh. This is a no no. 

There are two final words that you SHOULD NOT say. NEVER, ever say.

Find out more at  Inc.com

Build a Killer Website: 19 Dos and Don'ts

Websites are undeniably an important marketing tool in establishing your presence online. If you are "Googleable", you're one step ahead. 

Ilya Pozin writes his 19 Don'ts and Dos of a killer website. 

Do:

1. Set smart goals. 
2. Plan on becoming an SEO wizard. 
3. Use open source tools. 
4. Think about your mobile strategy simultaneously. 
5. Steal from your competitors. 
6. Develop your content. 
7. Write with calls to action in mind. G
8. Always answer the question “why?” 
9. Trust your Web designer. 

Don’t:

1. Do it yourself. It CANNOT look homemade. 
2. Make people think. 
3. Expect visitors. 
4. Spend all your money. 
5. Add a blog. 
6. Add Twitter and Facebook buttons. 
7. Try to please everyone.
8. Add testimonials. 
9. Use Flash.
10. Expect a killer website overnight. 

Read more at http://www.inc.com/ilya-pozin/build-a-killer-website-19-dos-and-donts.html?nav= via Inc.com

Five Rules for Innovating in a Shaky Economy

by Stephen Wunker |

When stock markets gyrate and growth prospects darken, it's tempting to rein in innovation programs and hoard cash. The S&P 500 did exactly that during the Great Recession, increasing their cash levels by over 50% to nearly $1 trillion today. As it looked like the economic storm clouds were dissipating (ah, the good old days...) the prospects for company growth looked barren, which is what will happen after firms have locked their cash away. So we saw a wave of mergers and share repurchases as companies found they had few programs in-house that could profitably absorb all that cash quickly. Rather than carefully watering a set of growth crops, companies had a fire hose of cash that they turned off and on. This is no way to nurture the growth prospects of tomorrow.

While businesses shouldn't react to economic uncertainty in knee-jerk fashion, the recent tumble in equity prices cannot be ignored. Companies can do five things to hedge their bets in turbulent times while opening up options for the future:

1. Re-visit big, inflexible projects — The 80/20 rule often applies to corporate innovation portfolios; a few projects consume the lion's share of cash. If those projects can adjust to the potential consequences of another economic dip, then there is no reason to change this allocation. However many big projects become inflexible, travelling on rails to a fixed destination. Management has made promises to senior executives about what a project will achieve, and fixed costs have built up because they looked prudent in comparison to planned revenues. For these projects, consider how to enhance adaptability through slowing development, turning fixed costs into variable ones (for example through using third-party contractors), or removing expensive features that could be added to successive generations of products.

2. Buy vowels — In the television game show Wheel of Fortune, contestants have the option of solving a word puzzle (a potentially risky move that can generate quick winnings) or buying a vowel (spending a bit of their cash to improve their knowledge about what the puzzle says). Uncertain economic times present an excellent vowel-buying opportunity. By learning more about consumer needs, investing small amounts in technologies emerging from academia, or trialing new ideas in modest test markets, companies can build their understanding about growth options and position themselves to take bolder and riskier moves as the economy brightens.

3. Add services — One of Procter & Gamble's most vaunted consumer brands is Mr. Clean. The company has invested in this brand's innovation in many ways. Some new products under this umbrella, like the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, were breakthrough hits, but they probably cost a good deal to develop. On the other hand, the company has trialed putting the Mr. Clean name on a handful of car washes. This move builds the visibility and image of the brand, generates new sources of potential revenue, and was likely quite cheap to execute. Services can cost far less than products to develop, they can expand businesses into new directions, and they can dovetail well with product offerings to make a compelling combination.

4. Experiment with new business models — When the Great Recession hit, many airlines responded by reducing flight frequencies, introducing new service charges, and generally discovering new ways to irritate hard-pressed passengers. JetBlue opted to try out a new business model, an "All You Can Jet" pass that let travellers pay a fixed fee for unlimited use of the airline from a major airport for a set period of time. The company created a fixed number of these passes, limiting the amount of risk it took in case people got a bit too enthusiastic with their travel. Business model innovations can cost very little to execute, and they can tell companies a lot about potential avenues for growth. Many companies, particularly those that produce physical goods, will have product innovation processes. Quite few have a business model innovation process, or even a single person dedicated to this function.

5. Shape a portfolio plan — For personal investments, stock market dips are times to prove the mettle of portfolio plans. Perhaps equities have declined, but the appreciation of the portfolio's small holding of gold has helped to balance out the impact. Good portfolio plans will balance the types of risks assets are exposed to, and they may have holdings with different levels of liquidity. It is strange that individuals will tend carefully to these plans, and then come to work and lack any such plan for their company's innovation investments. Instead, these investments may be agglomerated through a series of one-off decisions as ideas have been sold up the food chain. A solid plan would take account of the underlying drivers of program success or failure, and it would diversify risks, balance the time frames in which returns are expected, and ensure an appropriate balance between prudent investments and chancier ventures.

Taken together, these five steps are simple, cheap, and have little downside. If only stocks could make that boast!

Source: Harvard Business Review

Study: Kids Are the Road to Tech Innovation

Over the course of 2010, Latitude Research completed a multi-phase innovation study, Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet, asking kids across the world to draw the answer to this question: "What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can't do right now?" This study is part of a larger research initiative by Latitude that positions younger generations as a window into the future of technology, capable of informing tech experiences that resonate with people of all ages.

More than 200 kid-innovators, ages 12 and under, from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, South Asia and Australia, submitted drawings of their imagined technologies. By and large, kids wanted their technology to be more interactive and human, better integrated with their physical lives and empowering to users (such as by assisting new knowledge or abilities).

"I want an interface where we can search, not by text, but by drawing--and get image results with that particular shape or pattern." --Female, 12, Mumbai, India

Find out more of the kid's wishlist: ReadWriteWeb

Money Monday: How to Attract VC Investors

By Jim Casparie  
Take a sneak peek into the minds of some top VC investors to find out what they really look for in a "fundable" business.Here's what they said is important now:

Seasoning. They're looking for more experienced, older entrepreneurs who have "been there, done that." The time of investing in the 19-year old kid who's a tech-genius isn't necessarily gone, but the kid had better be able to find an older, seasoned executive to join his team.
Customers. Contrary to putting the emphasis on the team or the revenue numbers, there seemed to be a new emphasis on the customer:

• What compels them to buy this product or service?
• What problems does this product or service solve? Why is it better than the alternatives?
• Why is it worth the price?
• Does it compel you to tell others about your experience?
• Are your customers asking if they can invest in your company?

Team. The team is still an important part of the equation, but the entrepreneur is just as important. Here's what the investors are looking for in both:

• Passion: The entrepreneur must demonstrate a contagious excitement about their vision for the company.
• Tenacity: The entrepreneur must prove they have the stamina and willpower to stay with their vision through thick and thin.
• Flexibility: The entrepreneur must be willing to reevaluate and refocus their plans when things don't work out as anticipated.
• Commitment: The entrepreneur must be willing to invest enough of their own money into this project to convince investors they're serious.
• Teamwork: The entrepreneur's team must prove they can work effectively together.
• Coachability: The entrepreneur and their team must be coachable. No team knows everything they need to know to succeed.
• Knowledge: Investors prefer to back teams that really know their market by having backgrounds that are rich and impressive in the market niche for which the company is engaged.

Opportunity. Investors want big ideas. Ideas that can change the world. Ideas that change our behavior, culture or way of thinking. Ideas that can build $100-million-size companies. Anything less is too speculative. The risks of investing in a company are so great--and the chances of a reward so small--that investors can't afford to bet on opportunities that won't surely have huge payoffs. And one of the biggest problems when addressing opportunity is "Am I too early?" Investing in a huge opportunity five years before the market will recognize and embrace it is a very frustrating thing. Not only will you lose your investment, you'll have to suffer the extreme frustration of watching someone else make a lot of money on the foundation you helped build.
Business Model. Will the numbers map out? In other words, once someone takes a sharp pencil and starts tracing where every revenue dollar comes from and then seriously challenges every expense it'll take to generate that revenue dollar, will you have:

• a profitable model?
• a repeatable model?
• an expandable model?
• a predictable model?
• a defensible model?

Many an entrepreneur fails because they don't know how to do this type of exercise with a "real world" view.
Well, there you have it: the latest and deepest thinking from a sample of professional investors. How do you and your company match up? If you were honest and found areas that were lacking, please find someone who can help you fix them before you approach anyone to invest. Your extra investment of time will significantly improve your chances for funding.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Our in house coach is happy to help you! Email us at incubation@tpm.com.my for more info.

The New Rules of Getting Press for Your Start-up

By Darren Dahl |  Aug 15, 2011

Get Personal

While every business should be doing whatever it can to take advantage of online tools to promote itself, that doesn’t mean you should neglect tried-and-true methods of interpersonal interactions, as well. “Pick up the phone,” says Ryan Carlin, a PR expert.
“In an age where 'silent' business like e-mail is possible and often preferred, it undoubtedly makes an impact by picking up the phone. Not only does it establish trust, but it also creates a more solid relationship for future media outreach.”

Along those same lines, Cheung of Luxefinds.com says that she attends networking events in her local area if she knows that journalists and editors will be in attendance. “I introduce myself and we chat about anything from current news in my industry to what I’m doing that is relevant to potential stories they have in the pipeline,” she says, noting that she landed a story with Entrepreneur after meeting the editor-in-chief of the magazine at such an event. “Most of these events are two hours long and can be either free or low cost.”

Form Partnerships

For start-ups, there are many advantages to partnering with more established companies—especially if you can reap some press opportunities out of them. “By leveraging the media relationships of seasoned companies, start-ups can also spare themselves some time on the bench while trying to get in the game,” says Clarke, who teamed up with one of her clients, Glambar Salon in Atlanta, in publicizing their Second Anniversary Girl’s Club event. The result was that Clarke’s product, the EcoSOQ Natural Sleep Cap, was featured in several blogs and publications, like Essence and Rolling Out magazines.

Make Yourself an Expert

One surefire way to attract the attention of journalists is to promote yourself as an expert in your field, says Samson of crowdSPRING. “Create content designed to position yourself as an indispensable authority on your industry, your city, your profession, or any appropriate topic,” he says. Ways you can accomplish this include writing case studies and white papers that you then distribute to the media, your customers, and other professionals in your industry.

You can also set up an online press center on your company or personal website where you compile all of the stories, mentions, and press releases you have generated, and make them easily accessible, says Samson. “Also include a downloadable press kit with information on your company, your team, and your service or product, as well as photos, bios, and any other material that will be helpful for those who want to write about you,” he says.

Tap Influential Bloggers

Most products are built for a specific population of users or specific use cases, and whatever your product or service, there are bloggers who write about it and are influencers, says Jeff Kear, co-founder of MyWeddingWorkbook.com.

“These people are almost always interested in new products and services, so prior to launching your product or service, develop a list of these people with their e-mail and contact info and reach out to them to try out your product or service before it is released to the public. We did this when we launched a free version of our product and we went from 20 registrations a day for our web-based wedding planning software to more than 100 registrations a day for a five-day period soon after our launch.”

Bloggers and journalists are also interested in new trends and data—something that you can provide for them, says Kear.  “One of our products is online software for wedding consultants, and these people are very interested in what brides are thinking,” he says. “So we reached out to brides with a survey that asked questions that wedding consultants would be interested in. This provided us with info for 10-15 very focused articles that had proprietary industry data, which we then published on our blog and promoted to bloggers and writers who cover our industry. This kind of activity generated dozens of links to our site from influential industry sites like Wedlock.com, which has played a large role in increasing our site traffic by 168 percent this year.”

Take on Speaking Engagements

Jasbina Ahluwalia, an attorney turned entrepreneur who founded Intersections Match, a personalized matchmaking service for South Asian singles, says that speaking at events like conferences often leads to interesting PR opportunities. For example: “I recently spoke at a national conference for South Asian physicians and was approached by a person who was filmng a documentary,” says Ahluwalia, whose company has also been profiled in other outlets like Entrepreneur and the Chicago Tribune.

Apply to Awards Programs

While applying to annual industry awards or even more broad-based ones like the Inc. 5000 can be time consuming, they can also attract the attention of the media and new customers, says Judy Sultan, who is the PR manager for Xtreme Lashes. “Recognition for your innovative idea or good business practices will give you an easy way to publicize your company,” she says. “And winning one award gives you leverage to win another.”

Be Charitable

Ryan Carlin of Roaming Hunger says that good press also results from good deeds. “Attaching yourself to a benefit or charity is one of the easiest and most beneficial practices in PR,” he says. “Consumers love hearing about charitable organizations and their events, and journalists know this.”

Source: Inc.com

Five Worst Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Pitching Angel Investors

 By Jason Fell 

An effective elevator pitch can be crucial for entrepreneurs trying to secure funding from angel investors. The goal of the pitch -- written or delivered face-to-face -- is to briefly share the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of your business, while piquing an investor's interest. The tricky part is cramming all of that into one explanation that, hypothetically, should be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride.

"The pitch has to grab me quickly," says Paul Silva, manager of Springfield, Mass.-based angel group River Valley Investors. "For instance, with written pitch applications, we read the first few sentences and then toss half to two thirds of them away."

The best pitches, he says, describe the market the business is in, explain what problem it solves and demonstrate a track record. The worst ones fail for countless reasons.

Here are five of the worst elevator-pitch mistakes entrepreneurs make -- and how to avoid them.

Mistake No. 1: You don't explain what problem your business solves.
Some entrepreneurs spend too much time talking about how his or her product or service works and not enough time explaining what problem it solves, says William C. De Temple, founder of investor group Maximize Angel Investments Orlando Inc. "People buy solutions to problems," he says. "Don't tell me about how your lawn fertilizer works. Tell me about my lawn."

The Fix: Share why customers will buy your product or service.
"If you don't understand or can't explain what problem you're solving and why customers want to give you money, then we're probably never going to want to invest in your company," says Kyle Harris, a managing director at New York City-based angel fund Liquidity Works. Harris poses three questions to startups that you should be able to answer in your business: Who's your best customer? How much money do they make from buying your product? And, how much money will you make from selling it?


Mistake No. 2: You offer too many facts and numbers.
Entrepreneurs often use statistics to help explain their business. While some figures -- such as your sales and revenue -- are important to establish a track record, don't go overboard, Silva warns. Leave out the "step-by-step numerical proof of your market size," he says. "Be compelling. Save the reams of facts for later."

The Fix: Tell a story.
To capture an investor's full attention, explain your business by telling a story. Silva suggests using personal examples about how your service or product has solved a problem in your own life. Or, put the investor into your story. "If you're selling a product for people who are blind, don't start off talking about the difficulties blind people face. Instead, say something like, 'Imagine if you or a loved one were to go blind tomorrow…'" Silva says.

Mistake No. 3: You tout sales forecasts.
Early-stage sales projections often don't carry weight with investors because they aren't supported by actual sales history, De Temple says. As businesses grow, revenue streams, prices and even entire markets can change, rendering preliminary forecasts useless.

The Fix: Focus on the benefit your business offers customers.
To help make up for the fact that you might not have a long sales record, De Temple says, it’s better to explain the benefits the business will provide customers and how the company is different from the competition.
"Answering services companies have been around for centuries, but if yours, for example, uses technology to deliver messages immediately without the client having to call in and pick up messages, that solves a problem and has potential to create excellent revenue and profit," he says. "That's what's attractive to investors."



Mistake No. 4: You're too attached to your business plan.
For some investors, it's a red flag when entrepreneurs aren't willing to work outside the protocol outlined in their business plans, Harris says. "Say for instance you have a device that monitors electricity and, according to your business plan, you sell that device to customers for a fixed price," he says. "But when a customer wants to lease the device instead of owning it, and you tell them you can't do that, that might be a problem for an investor."
 
The Fix: Embrace new revenue opportunities.
If there's a new way to consider packaging or selling a service, a "true entrepreneur," Harris says, will seize the opportunity to make money. "Being flexible and willing to accommodate customers when they want your service in a slightly different way than you already offer is good," he says. "The goal should be to make your product as sellable as possible."


Mistake No. 5: You discuss ownership stakes.
While it might seem natural to explain how much ownership you're willing to offer investors, don't do it in the initial pitch, warns Silva. "It is like the sticker price on a car," he says. "If it's too high, you don't even talk to the salesman. You just walk off the lot."

The Fix: Save it for the follow-up.
Details about who gets what after an investment generally come up after an investor has finished researching your company. If an investor asks about ownership terms early on, Silva recommends you simply say you're "flexible." "Remember, your goal in the pitch is to build a relationship with the investor," he says. "Get them to fall in love with your idea."

Source: Entrepreneur