Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 23, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS Path to success requires sitting in driver's seat "M onday Morning Choices — 12 Powerful Ways to Go From Everyday to Extraor- dinary" by David Cottrell (Harper Col- lins, $21.99). We are products of the choices we make — and don't make. The difference between extraordinary and average performance involves the ability to make difficult choices and the right choices. On the highway to success, Cot- trell divides our choices into three categories: char- acter, action and investment. Character choices deal with acceptance of respon- sibility, commitment, drive, values and integrity. When it comes to your life, are you a driver or a passenger? Drivers are responsible for their jour- ney. They make decisions about route, traffic conditions, speed, etc. Passengers let drivers do the work. They rarely pay attention to where they are and they usually take in the scenery. More than occasionally, they become backseat drivers — making suggestions, but never wanting to take the wheel. Drivers are committed to their journey. For them, even failure means "one step closer to success." Action choices start at the end of every journey. Drivers ask: "Where do we go from here?" The knowledge from past journeys helps them plan their next route. They'll also look for additional information before committing to the route. Action choices come into play when obstacles mean alter- ing their route. They rarely take shortcuts because they know that cutting corners always has a price. Drivers are enthu- siastic about the journey. The investment choices drivers make have nothing to do with finances. They have everything to do with investing in people — establishing and maintaining relationships. But not just any relationships. Cottrell states: "Eventually we become like the five people we hang around with the most, which could be a blessing or a curse." Choose wisely, lest you become a passenger. Drivers want to train other drivers, too. By mentoring, they contribute to the suc- cess of others. They realize that you never know when paths may cross down the road to success. They want to ensure that, if paths do cross, they can rely on the input and expertise of those they've helped. Cottrell's message: You are far too talented to be average. Get out of the passenger seat; get behind the wheel and drive to success. • • • "How to Say It to Sell It: Key Words, Phrases, and Strategies to Build Rela- tionships, Boost Revenue, and Beat the Competition" by Sue Hershkowitz- Coore (Prentiss Hall Press, $13). Whether you're selling products and ser- vices to a customer, or pitching an idea to your boss, knowing when to listen, when to talk and what to say are the keys to hear- ing "Yes." The best advice I got when I was in sales was: "You have two ears and one mouth. That means you should listen twice as much as you talk." With that in mind, the author lists five steps to effective, active lis- tening: 1. "Look for points of agreement." You have to find common ground and weave them in when the time is right. 2. "If your customer disagrees with you, don't be quick to prove him wrong." Ask questions about the real rea- son behind the objection. Once you know it, 3. "Respond by talking about how much you agree." Starting with "You're right" or "Yes, and … " establishes common ground. 4. "If you can't agree, think about what the prospect wants to know." Their negative responses may mean that they don't know what they don't know. Focus your response on solving their problems. 5. "Determine the next step." Once you have a pros- pect thinking you can provide solutions, you need to ask about their next step in the process. Hershkowitz-Coore puts the five in context with the various prospect personalities you'll encounter. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak THE RAINMAKER Startups, unicorns and realistic expectations By Ken Cook I am a fan of startups and entrepreneurs, having worked with them my entire pro- fessional career. I've written books for them, built businesses around them and through Inc. Magazine consulted with the best of them, the Inc. 500. During my entire time working with startups and small businesses I have never seen a more fertile landscape and greater opportunities for entrepreneurs to be successful. The obvi- ous driver behind the opportunities is technology. Every- one has access to it through their phone. The ubiquitous cloud and data farms that support it enable Internet services for almost anything you can think of. The latest wave, under the umbrella of The Internet of Things, proposes that anything, literally anything, can be made better, easier, faster through the Internet. The current technology landscape is truly disruptive. The life sciences sector is achiev- ing incredible breakthroughs because of the application of technology and the expanded collaboration and access to information. Tra- ditional industries such as taxis and hotels are being turned upside down by Uber and Airbnb, respectively. Marrying technology to opportuni- ty is limited only by imagination (or lack thereof). Those of us who were around 15 years ago experiencing the dot-com bubble might say this is more of the same. It is the same in some respects; the enthusiasm and the flow of invest- ment capital is as strong, if not stronger, than it was 15 years ago. What's different is the revenue. During the dot-com bubble era there were valuations in the hundreds of millions and investments in the tens of millions for com- panies that had no revenue. Some didn't even have well thought-out business plans. Today though, companies have customers and revenue. They are growing at rapid rates, and investing millions to spur that growth. What's not present in great abundance is prof- its. And that's actually okay in many cases. Being first to a market opportunity and own- ing that market opportunity can eliminate many competitors. The companies will learn how to become more efficient, market more effectively and increase profits. A difference in this wave of technology and life-science startups is the appearance of mythical unicorns, which are compa- nies with billion-dollar valuations. Today, there are over 50 of these unicorns; Uber for example has a valuation somewhere in the $50-billion range, which is more than 70 per- cent of the Fortune 500 combined. Excitement for the startup community is understandable. There are opportunities to build some great companies. Amid all of this I would like to offer a suggestion for the entre- preneur: Have realistic expectations. Accord- ing to Shikhar Ghosh, a senior lecturer at Har- vard Business School, as many as 75 percent of venture capital-backed firms fail. Venture capitalists "bury their dead very quietly," Ghosh says. "They emphasize the successes but they don't talk about the failures at all." It's ironic that Silicon Valley adopted the mythical term unicorn for all of their future great companies. Many of the unicorns will evolve into a real failure, and some have begun the decline already. Between 2006 and 2013 over 6,600 companies received venture funding; less than 1 percent reached IPO status. Another aspect of realism is knowing that cash is king. Without capital nothing happens. Capital is attracted to opportunity, and in the beginning capital is attracted to revenue. If you are starting, go out and sell someone on your product or service. If you need a prototype, go to CTNext or the CT Center for Advanced Tech- nology (CCAT) for help (Or your rich aunt if you and she are so inclined). Build a business on a product, service, app or medical breakthrough that offers real value people will pay money to get. Customers and revenues will attract investment capital. Once you get some capital, be aggressive and thrifty at the same time. Efficiently gain customers. As I said at the beginning, I'm a big fan of entrepreneurs. I'm especially happy when they make it. Be realistic in your expecta- tions, and horde your cash wherever and whenever possible. Achieve early success and build on it. Fans in many forms will join you along the way. n Ken Cook is the co-founder of How to Who and co-author of How to WHO: Selling Per- sonified, a book and program on building business through relationships. Learn more at www.howtowho.com. Ken Cook ▶ ▶ Eventually we become like the five people we hang around with the most, which could be a blessing or a curse. ▶ ▶ During my entire time working with startups and small businesses I have never seen a more fertile landscape and greater opportunities for entrepreneurs to be successful.

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