A Listener Asks, “What is the Best Action for a New Entrepreneur to take?” Also, Books. With Bridget Gleason [Episode 589]

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Taking an overseas flight with nothing to read is unimaginable to Andy. Ebooks are great! Bridget says people may take the time for extended meditation. Bridget and Andy share thoughts on retreats.
• Listener Jason asks, “What is the single best action you would tell a new entrepreneur to take when selling to a seasoned client base?” Jason is a business intelligence analyst selling customized data visualization reports.
• Take sales classes. It’s not about knowing more than the prospect but understanding their pains, challenges, and aspirations. Jason needs to learn discovery and to help the prospect. It’s about the prospect, not the product.
• As a new entrepreneur, Jason needs his Ideal Client Profile. Andy suggests that the more successful people are the ones who will appreciate the value of the product. Successful people are constantly learning. Research them.
• Having an ICP is essential. A seasoned professional will not need to be educated on the benefits of a product. It is hard for new entrepreneurs to identify their ICP.
• A common business mistake is to focus on helping companies that are struggling. An entrepreneur can build a better business by helping successful companies to become even more successful.
• Jason uses Tableau. Andy suggests partnering with Tableau to teach new clients how to use it. Bridget discusses The Patriots and Kraft Analytics Group data use.
• We tend to use data on a superficial level, to confirm our biases. Data should stimulate questions. Jason could help clients understand the questions they should be asking the data.
• Andy recommends asking the questions of prospects that they should know the answer to, but that they don’t, establishes your credentials with them.
• Bridget just read Extreme Ownership, by Jocco Willink and she strongly recommends it for leadership. Andy just read Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Banaji and Greenwald. They created an Implicit Association test.
• Clicksand, by Bill Troy, is an upcoming book about the dangers of much online marketing. It’s an analysis of inauthentic behaviors used in online marketing vs. the behaviors needed to create lasting client relationships.
• Bridget is reading A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel, by Amor Towles and is enjoying it. In a future episode,  Andy will talk about Against Empathy: The Case For Rational Compassion, by Paul Bloom.