Reviewing the results of 2009, it’s clear that speed of implementation can be divided into two parts:
- Initiation, how fast to get started. Initiation is easy to understand, if you can’t get started on something right away, or at least Real Soon Now (for real), you’re unlikely to succeed at it.
- Execution, how fast until payoff. Getting to payoff is lot trickier proposition, and in business, this is where most of the action appears to be.
Here’s an example.
Person A had a great idea. And got started on it right away. Initiation proceeded smoothly and quickly. The great idea consisted of creating a resource useful to small businesses and solo entrepreneurs. This idea was good. Still is good. But Person A’s strategy was to create the resource first, using that for “proof of technical capability.” Now, the resource is built, and Person A is prospecting for customers. But not making many sales.
There was no speed of execution here.
One year later, Person B had a similar idea and is already making a lot of sales. Because instead of building a resource, Person B built a list of customers. Then, when Person B had the Great Idea, it was simple to sell the idea to the customers already on Person B’s list. Having a large list of prospects who are already “bought in” trumps technical capability.
Speed of execution was rapid.
Discussion can go several directions from here.
Knowing what to build
Ben Saurez (“7 Steps to Freedom”) openly discusses one of the “dirty little secrets” of direct marketing: make a promise and collect money before building a product. If the amount of sales is unprofitable, just refund the money. Back in those days, people expected to wait up to 60 days for product delivery.
These days, your product better download instantly.
There are ways, legal ways, to measure interest in a product other than pre-selling it. This is not the place for that discussion.
Upshot: knowing exactly what to build speeds implementation.
Messenger matters more than message
The internet provides ubiquitous exposure. People aren’t very good at evaluating “what” but they feel they are better at evaluating “who.”
Here’s the break down. Given:
- purchasing from someone with hundreds of thousands of words of content proving capability, or
- purchasing from someone who they feel they “trust,”
trust will win every time. Even when it’s wrong.
Vital business lessons
Work on trust-building as much as capability-building.
Find a balance between the trust and capability to allow speed of execution.
