We are back with another round of “The Name Game”. If you haven’t played this game before, here’s the basic gist:
We invite you up on stage
You only tell us the name and domain of your company
Our goal is to guess what your company does as well as provide beneficial tips and feedback on your company name/domain
This game provides a safe place to test the waters on your company name and domain, but it’s also a great opportunity to practice your elevator pitch.
We heard various unique company names/domains such as…
So Frappe – Is this a coffee shop? Do they sell ice cream?
Printopiausa.com – This could be on-demand printing services, or an online photo printer, or what if it’s a 3D printer?
NF.team – What if this is a sports-related store? Or it could also be a graphic design or branding consulting company…
You may be surprised to hear what the ultimate goals are for some of these companies! We love hearing new names, join us next week to discuss your company name and domain!
If you want to hear more about other companies that played the game, listen to the full session above!
We are continuing with our devotion to the topic of sales this month as many are preparing to go back to school or work. We had another open mic session where members of the panel and audience contributed helpful sales hacks.
Some hacks that were shared include the following…
Understand the personality profile of your potential customer. Different people have different methods of consuming information and making decisions.
With one-on-one pitches, match the speaking speed of the customer.
Focus on a “culture of caring,” and have a genuine concern for your potential customers and your business, not solely a concern for the sale. Keep in mind that people want to engulf themselves in a business where they feel that they’re consistently being helped and cared for.
Understand that it’s okay to say no! Value the concept of “saying yes to the right business.”
Silos affect sales. Many companies place different departments in separate silos and ignore that these departments (sales, marketing, and product developments) are all points on the same triangle and that it’s essential that they work together.
When it comes to sales pitches, rejection is a business’ #1 fear. However, understand that rejection is an opinion, not fact, and if anything you should view rejection as a new opportunity for growth and development.
These are just some of the various hacks that were brought to the stage. To hear even more enlightening hacks, listen to this full session above!
Getting the holy grail of sales — the customer referral(Recorded Live on Clubhouse August 13, 2021)
In this session of our sales series, we discussed keeping the team motivated post-sale and committed to improvement. How to implement new practices, ensure customer satisfaction, and stop making assumptions about your consumer base for even more success next time.
Moderators:Colin C. Campbell, Michele Van Tilborg, Jeff Sass, Rachael Lashbrook
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In last week’s session, we talked about sourcing products in the U.S. What is happening in today’s environment? Why does it make sense? Can you be competitive? Who should be sourcing in the U.S.? We invited Afolabi Oyerukon, an expert in the field, to join us and discuss these questions.
China is one of the most popular countries to source from because of their low-cost labor, but now with the increasing shipping costs, sourcing in China doesn’t make that much sense. A year or two ago, a container could be around $3k – $5k dollars, today it’s around $20k.
What are the costs of bringing products into the U.S.?
There are certain costs that you have to consider when you bring products into the U.S. Import taxes or customs duties, are a big part of it. Customs duties vary by country of origin and type of product, so you have to apply the import duty for that specific product, plus the import duty assigned to the country of origin.
In the case of China, there is a 25% import duty (known as Trump Tax), and on top of that, you have to add the duties for the commodity (type of product). So, let’s say you want to import a product from China because the cost per item is $7.00. If you start doing the math, manufacturing costs, plus customs duties, plus shipping costs (mentioned earlier) you start thinking that it’s not that big of a difference when it comes to costs.
Why should people start looking to source in the U.S.?
We can start by talking about quality. The United States and Canada have top wood and better chemicals than most other countries, meaning most factories in Asia depend on U.S. materials to make products. So, the raw materials come from the U.S., then shipped to Asia to manufacture products, then shipped back to the U.S.
The U.S. is one of the most innovative countries and has been focusing on machinery, robotics, and automation development. So what the U.S. has been doing is basically developing efficient and high-volume production factories which are overdoing Asia’s low-cost manufacturing labor.
So, where to look for manufacturing companies in the U.S? How to protect your product from being replicated? What are other leading material innovations in the U.S? Listen to the full episode above to learn more about this topic.
Last week Coach Yu brought this great topic about what we can do in only a minute. We discussed how to make the most out of every minute we get and some ideas of what we can do. There are actually a million tasks that can be done in one minute (or even less!). Let’s set the timer, go!
Here are the top 10 things you can do in a minute:
Record an intro for a podcast
Share a tip
Have a minute of gratitude
Post on Social Media
Check-in on a friend
Write an email
Lookup a word that you don’t know
Compliment someone
Pay a bill
Respond to a text
Listen to the full session above, and all the tasks you can get done in only a minute!
In last week’s session, everyone shared some insights and some personal experiences when balancing and managing time around work and family, especially how the pandemic has impacted routines and ways of living.
There were 3 major points discussed:
Be intentional with your time: Some shared some techniques like breaking up your day in the rule of 8 – 8 – 8, meaning dedicating 8 hours a day to work, 8 hours to friends and family, and 8 hours to sleep. Others mentioned prioritizing, and putting what matters to you first.
The relationship with your significant other is critical: The support entrepreneurs get from their partners is key to a successful journey. This support empowers entrepreneurs to move forward. It takes a lot of communication and actively making everyone feel heard.
Be in the moment, be present: When it’s time to be with family, be with family. When it’s time to work, work. The pandemic taught us how to better work together and respect each others’ time and space. A great tip: turn off notifications! You’ll gain a lot.
Your business could end up consuming your life when it’s supposed to be just one part of it. Learning how to balance your time, being in the moment, and supporting each other is key to a successful business, and of course, life!
Listen to the full session above to hear more about what entrepreneurs and parents are doing to be able to do it all!
We are back with another round of “The Name Game”. If you haven’t played this game with us before, here’s the basic gist:
We invite you up on stage
You tell us the name and domain of your company
Our goal is to guess what your company does as well as provide beneficial tips and feedback on your company name/domain
Based on the name of your business, in this crowded cluttered world where we’re all competing for someone’s attention, it could be helpful if your name gives an indication of what kind of business you’re in, it can definitely help draw customers to you.
We heard various unique company names like…
Proactiverisk.com Proactive is a nice action-oriented word and it’s combined with a “negative” word but it works because it is something you would like to avoid. Maybe this could be an insurance company?
Fantasypro.com Two great words, especially fantasy which could mean a lot of things. If you pair it with “pro” it could be related to sports. Is it a resource to become a pro at fantasy sports?
Unscramblers.com Qualifies as one word and sounds interesting. This could be a fun game to unscramble words or pictures even a puzzle. Are we spot on?
We always encourage companies to get their domain names as soon as possible and as similar as possible to their company name. Once you get your own domain name you get to train your customers to look for it and be in control of where you are directing them to.
To hear all these companies’ true goals, as well as receive some valuable feedback listen to the full session above.
August is sales month so today we opened up the stage for members of the panel and audience to contribute helpful hacks regarding the topic of sales.
Some hacks that were shared include the following…
When conducting a sales meeting, allow your customer to share their thoughts first. Find value in simply listening! This can help you then better shape your pitch to address their thoughts.
Don’t sell the product, sell the outcome. How can your product positively impact a potential customer’s life?
Show you care about your customer as a person more so than a customer. This can be as simple as including follow-up emails/messages where you send quick thank-you notes.
In a setting like a call center, the challenge is to make a connection quickly so that the person on the other end doesn’t hang up. Try to start with a positive comment before jumping into your points. Being likeable and friendly goes a long way!
Pay attention to exactly who a message/email is being sent to because it is of great importance to personalize a message so that it better resonates with the receiver.
It is all about having the utmost respect and care for the customer and their needs. You want to earn their trust and loyalty by not only proving that your product is a safe decision but also through showing that you care about them on a more personal level. It is not complex to spend five minutes to put extra effort in and learn your potential buyer on a personal level.
These are just some of the various hacks that were brought to the stage. To hear even more enlightening hacks, listen to this full session above!
We are back with another open-mic session where we opened up the stage for contributions towards the topic of promotion hacks. We wanted to hear entrepreneur’s favorite tips and hacks when it comes to promoting their startup.
Some hacks that were shared include the following…
If there is a breaking story in the media that is grasping mass attention, utilize the approach of newsjacking to piggyback on that story and create something that people will pick up when searching for that particular story.
Use every opportunity to express your brand to the public! You can do this by wearing your company shirt or even having company stickers on your electronic cases, or something of the sort, to draw attention.
Find influencers that have an organic connection to your product/brand and allow them to further bring attraction to your business.
Get creative and generate a company mascot! Mascots are a great way to influence the recognition of your business.
Assess your choice in title tags and ask yourself, “What words do I want to own on Google?”
Pay attention to customer service. You will secure a great advantage by having a customer service team of empowered and friendly employees that influence customer loyalty.
Attract more engagement through the use of lawn signs. This can especially be beneficial if you are striving to reach people of a certain neighborhood or area.
These are some of the various hacks that were brought to the stage. The best part about these hacks is that the majority of them cost little to no money to put into action.
To hear many other low-investment promotion hacks, that can be of great help to you and your startup, listen to this full session above!
Digging deeper into last session’s discussion on sales tips, we discuss the relationship between sales, marketing, and product development and maintaining that synergy in a way that converts. Plus– handling rejection, knowing your audience, and when to say ‘no.’
Moderators:Colin C. Campbell, Michele Van Tilborg, Jeff Sass, Rachael Lashbrook
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