Selim gives an example of overcoming the curse of knowledge. The curse of knowledge, of course, is your forgetting what it is like to not have the knowledge you worked so hard to get. This is a notable example in part because Selim comes from the enterprise software world at Dell, and if he doesn’t know what “SBC” means, what hope is there for the rest of us?
Shorts
These are short clips from selected episodes of The White Rabbit podcast.
Your questions might be limiting your discovery
Matt, summarizing Selim’s point, mentions that our attempt to ask questions, as well intended as it is, can sometimes actually hurt our ability to discover the other person’s reality in a conversation.
The brain is a resource hog, and that’s why it defaults to “Me First”
Selim speculates that the human brain might be defaulting to the “Me First” strategy because of the way the brain is built.
Neuroscience holds the key to why “Me First” is our default
Selim suspects that the key to understanding why “Me First” is our default communication strategy lies in neuroscience.
Your advice might be stopping the conversation
Selim reminds us that our desire to be helpful might actually be getting in the way of a conversation.
Do not succumb to the false dream of influence
In summarizing Selim’s points, Matt riffs on one of his favorite topics, presentation training’s “false dream of influence.”
Recognize that you cannot control the customer’s purchasing decision
Selim touches on the nearly universal desire to control the other’s output, but the near impossibility of actually doing so.
What does Selim mean by “Me First” in sales?
Selim goes further into what he means by the “Me First” side of the “Me First vs Connection First” equation.
What is necessary in both of your stories
Alex mentions that the two stories (the company story and the customer story) will be significantly different, even though they are describing the same business, because they are for different audiences.
Strategy for founders
Alex goes into how important it is to stay in touch with what you want to change about the world. Your strategy will largely flow from that, and it will change as you learn more about the market.
Reframing the story for internal consumption
Alex goes into the internal story that you tell to your employees, partners, investors, etc. It will come from the same bigger picture that your customer story does, but it will be reframed for internal consumption.
Importance of strategy in making your stories
In the words of Alex, don’t be “generic and flabby” when coming up with your story. Or in other words, have something to say.
How Alex got into the business
Alex goes into how he got started in the strategy business, and how he realized how thoroughly-done it was, yet he was able to bring something new to it.
Communication of the strategy is more important than the strategy itself
Your strategy is important, but sometimes even the best ones are crazy simple. So your success is not going to be based so much on how special your strategy is, but on how well you communicate it to your employees and your customer base.
An example of the customer story using IKEA
Alex gives an example of what the customer story might be like, using IKEA as an example.
Note that this is not necessarily the story IKEA uses, we’re just using IKEA as an example. However, IKEA, if you decide to use this, please contact me for bank information for the royalty payments. 😉
An example of the company story using IKEA
And in this one, Alex gives us an example of what a company story might sound like, using IKEA as an example.
And again, note that this is not necessarily IKEA’s story, it’s just us imagining what IKEA’s story might be like. IKEA, if you decide to actually use this, please contact us for bank information for the royalty payments. 😉
What is a credible manner
Şebnem goes into what builds credibility with a potential customer.
What an employee without the storytelling skill will do
Şebnem goes into what an employee without the storytelling skill will do initially, and what she steers him or her towards instead.
The three levers of trust
As Şebnem sees it, there are three levers of trust we can pull, and here she throws in a fourth, bonus, one too!
Some employees already have the story mindset
Şebnem mentions that some employees already have the story mindset, so all you need to feed them is the raw data, and they’ll take care of the rest.
Other employees don’t already have this mindset, and they need additional assistance. She goes into that in other clips.
Selling an idea
Şebnem comments on how selling an idea and understanding your customer are closely linked.
One company will have different audiences
Şebnem reminds us that different constituencies in the same company are going to respond to different angles of the message.
In other words, don’t get lazy and think that one message is good for everyone in the same company!
Is storytelling for business a natural skill
Şebnem mentions that storytelling for business is not a natural skill, and how it is regained.
Our education system and early job training drill the skill out of us until what we “think” the business world needs is totally out of line with what it actually shows us it is wanting.
Importance of understanding the market
Şebnem comments on the role of understanding the market in building personal credibility with your potential customer.
How the market fits into their reality
Şebnem goes deeper into how she fits her product into the customer’s reality.
Creating credibility through association
And don’t forget the fourth lever of building trust, credibility through association. Some of your existing customers might be really good partners for this.
Building trust personally
Şebnem goes into how you establish personal trust with a new customer, and that a key part of that process is your ability to describe the market and how it, and your product, fit into the customer’s life.
Building the story
Şebnem mentions how important a story format is to the sales process.
Why don’t companies have these stories
The customer story and the company story are pretty easy to write if you have something to say, but virtually impossible to write if you have nothing to say.
In this short, Alex Smith goes into why so many companies don’t have these stories.
And yes, you guessed it, it’s pretty closely related to the fact they don’t have anything of use to say.
Dolly Parton quote
Who would have thought Dolly Parton was a strategy expert?
According to her:
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
Alex Smith goes into what most people do instead.
What is probably going to happen if you haven’t done your homework
What will you end up with if you try to write your stories before you do your strategy homework?
If you don’t have something to talk about, what are you left with
If you don’t have a strategy and the two stories, all you are left with is hustle. In other words, “a world of hurt.”
In this short, Alex Smith goes into how that is.
Internal consumption story will mention you a lot more
In this short from the podcast, guest Alex Smith digs into the company story and who it’s for.
The customer is James Bond and you are Q
In this short from The White Rabbit podcast, Alex M H Smith uses “Q” in the James Bond movies as an example of how much of you should be in the stories you tell your customers.
LinkedIn and attending conferences
LinkedIn, and attending conferences, will be good for outreach, but it is important to remember that they need to be just a couple tools in a much larger marketing toolbox.
Understanding GDPR
Understanding GDPR, and not running afoul of it, will be critical in your outreach.
Outsourcing sales in other industries
Rick relates further experience with the outsourcing of sales activity, mentioning here a story from the telco world.
Tech industry used to outsourcing sales
Rick mentions that the tech industry is used to outsourcing sales activity, and therefore your company will probably be familiar with it, if you decide to go down that route.
Other things of interest to investors
Rick lists some of the other data investors will want to see when they vet your plan, in addition to the sales growth numbers.
Investors will want to see the research
Investors will want to see the qualification research you are basing your decisions on.
Don’t feel pressure
Rick mentions that your team might only do the qualification research once, or maybe a few times at most, in their lives, but there are some who do it regularly.
Investors want a quick return
Expanding abroad is a long-term project, but don’t forget at the early stages that investors are going to want to see a quick return.
Motivating your employees
Don’t forget that you will be asking a lot of your employees, and you will need to motivate them somehow.
Lots of verticals at home
Rick cautions that if we are used to selling to a lot of verticals at home, expanding abroad might actually be more difficult.
If your home market is small
Rick reminds us that if our home market is small, we may have no choice but to expand abroad.
Do not wait too long
Rick reminds us to not wait too long to expand, someone else might get there first.
Will my stars back home be my stars abroad
Rick addresses the question, “Will my sales stars back home be my sales stars abroad,” and mentions that the answer to that question may depend on the financial commitment your customer is making.
When is it time
Rick addresses the question, “How do I know when it’s time,” and what financial and non-financial resources will be required.
Don’t let hotness blind you
Don’t let the hotness of the market in a country blind you to the competitive presence there. Map out where your competition is, and don’t be afraid to target a secondary market.
Make sure those verticals exist in the new market
Make sure those verticals exist in your target market, too. It might sound obvious, but maybe they don’t, maybe an unexpected dynamic is at work, you’d be surprised.
How did you reach those verticals
It is important to understand how you reached those verticals in your home country. The approach may be different elsewhere, but you need to understand how you reached them in your home country anyway.
Identify your verticals
Rick Pizzoli reminds us to identify the verticals that work best for us BEFORE we try to expand abroad.
Software should be global from Day One
Yalın talks about software, and how the costs of localization mean the software should be global from the very start of your company.
Selling nontangible products is completely different
Yalın emphasizes that selling a nontangible product (software, for example) is completely different from selling a tangible product.
Other ways to skin the cat
Yalın lists some other ways to go about selling into other countries.
Selling to subsidiaries as a strategy
Yalın comments on the strategy of selling to local subsidiaries as a way to gain trust with the headquarters.
Trust also comes from problems
Trust also comes from how you handle problems, so don’t see problems as inherently 100% bad.
Inheriting trust (or distrust)
Yalın delves into how you might need to overcome trust problems that were created by someone else before you even showed up.
Step out of your love
Yalın mentions that founders are often in love with their products and easily fall into the trap of “it works at home, so it’ll work here too.”
Sometimes sellers don’t want to sell
Yalın describes a situation where sometimes even the sellers don’t want to sell, because that means the company would need to produce (yes, you read that right, sometimes the sellers don’t want to sell).
Buyers might not want to buy
Yalın points out that, especially in former Communist countries, buyers might see you as a potential problem, not a potential solution.
Customs clearance
Yalın discusses customs clearance and the importance of not letting it ruin your reputation when you try to expand your sales to other products.
Defense not offense
Yalın recommends that in the initial days after that first pallet is sold, play defense (don’t make any mistakes), not offense (sell more).
What happens next
Yalın on what happens after you clear that initial hurdle and begin to enter the magical world of repeat sales.
Mindset
Yalın goes into the importance of mindset, seeing the big picture, and limiting your expectations in the early days.
Start with the end in mind
Yalın suggests sellers start with the end in mind. Before the first pallet gets to the new country, what are you going to do with it, all the way to the end.
Day One is actually Day Zero
Yalın reminds us that when we congratulate ourselves for completing Day One, we’re actually at Day Zero.
Welcome to Level Two
Yalın begins to describe the reality check that happens after you sell that first pallet.
First sale is just the beginning
Yalın reminds us that the first sale is just the beginning. “Congratulations, now learn to do it over and over,” basically.
Table stakes
Yalın goes into one of the basics of selling into a new country. It is a basic step, but a lot of companies don’t do even this.
Origin story
Yalın goes into how he started the agency and what problems his initial customers were trying to solve.
Focus on one country
There are many ways to crack the commitment nut, and one way you can do it is to focus your efforts on one country, as KFactory did.
Legal entity in new market
Vlad Cazan delineates a couple reasons for creating a new legal entity in the new market.
Will the old stars work
Vlad Cazan weighs in on the question, “Will the old star employees be stars in the new market too?”
Entrepreneurial transformation journey
Vlad Cazan responds to Alper’s question about the entrepreneurial journey, and how much learning is involved, even if you are starting the journey in your 40s.
Don’t skip steps
Vlad Cazan stresses the importance of not skipping steps, no matter how impatient you might be.
Be patient
Vlad Cazan warns us to be patient, the results are not going to come as quickly as we, and our investors, want them to.
Some countries are more open than others
Vlad Cazan points out that some countries are more open than others, and that knowing which ones are more open to you is an important part of the research phase.
More on the importance of accelerators
Vlad Cazan goes deeper on the importance of accelerators, even if you already have a few references you can use.
Use an accelerator or incubator
Vlad Cazan’s company had numerous references from subsidiaries of multinationals, but found the assistance of an accelerator/incubator and embassy crucial in expanding abroad.
Value of sandbox
Vlad Cazan mentions the value of a sandbox and what you should do there.
Expansion strategy
Vlad Cazan goes into his company’s strategy for expanding into the UK.
Should the founder be involved
Berk Temuroglu responds to the question, “Should the founder be involved in the market expansion research?”
Who should that researcher be
Berk Temuroglu responds to the question, “If the researcher should be one person, who should that one person be?”
The power of one
Berk Temuroglu suggests that to reduce noise, only one person research the move into a new market.
Research through invalidation
Berk Temuroglu says that the fastest market research is to actually invalidate a concept.
Giving up prematurely
Berk Temuroglu warns that the desire to keep the sexy illusion of growth alive might cause a company to give up too early on a market.
Boring period is where the expansion actually happens
Berk Temuroglu points out that this boring period is where the expansion actually happens.
What is boring about this period
Berk Temuroglu talks about what is boring during this period.
A boring period
Berk Temuroglu describes what he calls “the wheel of engagement,” and how it might include a boring period that many of the employees, who were attracted by the sexy idea of working for a startup, will find uninteresting.
Factors to consider
Berk Temuroglu lists some of the factors to consider when thinking about who will staff your international sales operation.
Stars at home may not be stars abroad
Berk Temuroglu mentions that the star employees back at home may not be stars in the new market.
Expansion is business-specific
Berk Temuroglu notes that sales expansion will be very business-specific.
Risk of a new management team
Berk Temuroglu addresses the question, “Isn’t a new management team a new risk too?”
The five cardinal risks
Berk Temuroglu outlines what he calls The Five Cardinal Risks, the risks that are (hopefully) being eliminated at each subsequent round of funding.
Funding rounds are about elimination of risk too
Berk Temuroglu mentions that subsequent funding rounds are also about the progressive elimination of risk.
Can you frame alone
Berk Temuroglu goes into framing the problem and tweaking it for the audience, and can you do it in isolation by yourself?
How you frame the problem depends on who you are speaking to
Berk Temuroglu mentions that the framing of the problem will be slightly different depending on who you are speaking to.
Why does this happen
Berk Temuroglu theorizes on why corporate managers tend to not spend enough time describing the problem, and instead jump too quickly to the solution.
Corporate managers focus on idea too much
Berk Temuroglu goes into the problem/solution cycle, and how he believes corporate managers spend too much time discussing the idea (solution), and not enough time describing the problem.