September 12, 2016

The hard bit #2

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The hard bit #3

Car So you invented it, and sold it. Now comes the bit you have even less control over … delivery. Some of that is actually shipping…

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Spitfire

The second hard bit, and harder than the first, is selling.

When it comes to invention, you control a huge percentage of the moving parts. It’s an internal problem and you’re either paying the people or have co-opted them to your cause. They’re motivated and actively helping along the way.

Most product failures have nothing to do with the product.

Customers think different to colleagues.

They look at what you’ve got, or say you’ve got, and add all the DOTs to the equation.

The result: selling something new involves a near vertical learning curve (and dealing with a lot of rejection). Then, if you’re lucky, there’s negotiating and contracting and …

And the trick isn’t in finding the first customer – although, happy day! – it’s about building consistent demand. And that’s hard, whether it’s five a year or 500 a minute.

Skippy strategy: Building a better mousetrap, is, not, enough.

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Skippiness