Apr 13 2020 64 mins 2
One Powerful Quotation
- 1:01:30: “When you’re looking for early customers, you probably don’t have a ton of leverage. You are probably gonna be more open to… changing some features or adding some features… If you’re getting started and you don’t have that leverage in the beginning, and if you really are very focused on bringing money in the door and getting started, that’s probably gonna happen in some form or fashion in the beginning, and then over time, you can adapt and move away from that if you need to.”
Key Topics
- 0:49: Shawn and Harris open the show welcoming listeners. They both comment how well received the podcast has been and what they’ve learned from guests on the platform.
- 2:38: Shawn shares his latest project he’s working on with neural networks and machine learning. He describes how he’s using these to manipulate micro controllers and the challenges asso-ciated with it.
- 6:27: Harris shares his latest workshop on new outbound methods/approaches from small businesses that can be applicable to larger, founder-owned corporations. He notes the importance of a structured, high value, and personalized approach are the keys for generating that sales conversation.
- 9:18: Shawn asks Harris about his techniques he uses to engage his audience when he presents. Harris admits it can be challenging, but the goal is to have an interaction that is resourceful/useful.
- 12:32: Shawn and Harris discuss how influencing your customer is to have them do something for you. Harris explains this and how building trust for your customer to take a series of steps/actions will ultimately make it easier to close a deal.
- 16:04: Shawn and Harris switch topics and talk about formulating your business and creating the first transaction. They offer tips on how to create accounts, limit your liability, and save you money.
- 23:05: Shawn shares the story of how he landed Digi-Key as his first customer. Harris shares a similar story and they talk about the importance in building your network.
- 33:14: Harris mentions another approach in finding your next customer through content market-ing conversations. He and Shawn talk about generating feedback from your audience, handling criticism, and how to monetize it.
- 40:02: Harris illustrates how crowdfunding can be used for projects and how to allocate the funds. Shawn agrees and adds that these campaigns have become more of a pre-order system than for marketing/creating outreach for a project/business.
- 46:40: Harris brings up the importance of cold outreach and how to successfully implement it. He lists critical steps to follow that highlight drawing attention/interest, crafting contextu-al/personal messages, and offering opt-in/opt-outs preferences to customers.
- 56:34: Shawn expands on this topic during his time at SparkFun, and he and Harris acknowledge how to leverage the bridged gap between markets, cataloged audiences, and using distributors. Harris also contrasts the differences between larger, VC backed companies versus smaller, lean operations and what they represent as a medium.
- 1:01:26: Harris and Shawn wrap up the show and give their final remarks.
Bullet List of Resources:
Additional Links
- Josh Braun - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-braun/
Host Contact Information
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnhymel/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harriskenny/
https://www.twitter.com/ShawnHymel
https://www.twitter.com/harriskenny
Follow Hello Blink Show
https://helloblinkshow.com
https://twitter.com/helloblinkshow
https://www.linkedin.com/company/helloblinkshow/
License Information
“Hello Blink Show” by Kenny Consulting Group, LLC and Skal Risa, LLC is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Intro and outro song is “Routine” by Amine Maxwell is licensed under CC BY 3.0
