What you should know about selling your next great idea
It doesn’t matter how great of an idea you have, it isn't going to sell itself. This is why you need to know the ins and outs of selling your next great idea. Whether you’re presenting to customers, colleagues, or investors, the pointers here will help you to sell your next great idea and ensure it goes down a storm. Take a look and see what you can learn.
Make sure you have the next ‘big thing’
Buying is an emotional act, and this stands true even when you’re trying to sell an idea. An idea should make intuitive sense, and appeal to somebody’s gut. You need to convince the people you’re speaking to that you have the next big thing and get them excited.
The goal is to persuade the person or group of people you’re talking to that your idea aligns with their own values, opinions, and so on/ It should also make somebody feel like they are making a powerful and positive decision should they choose to invest or go with your idea.
Adapt your story to the listener
People love stories, but you need to make sure you adapt your story to the listener for it to be as effective as possible. Be smart and adapt your story to the person listening to it. You will cover all bases in a business plan, but will need to adapt what you’re saying to the person you’re speaking to. For example, if you’re speaking to your accountant, you’ll want to focus on the financial aspect of things such as ROI. They won’t care about the techy stuff. Bear this in mind, whoever you may be speaking to.
Make buying less risky
Even once somebody has decided they should buy something, they will start looking for reasons to change their mind. This means you must anticipate problems and objections in advance. Why is your idea different? Why don’t they have anything to worry about? Make sure you think of all the things people may worry about and work out how you’ll address that before they even need to ask.
Build momentum
Building momentum as you share your idea is a key way to get people onboard. Continually check for agreement as you share your idea. Asking for feedback frequently throughout the dialogue will ensure that you’re on the same page as the person/people you’re talking to and ensure you are selling the way you want to be.
Use the right platforms
Using certain platforms can help you to bring your great ideas to life, for example, creating a presentation can help you to share your idea in a simplified way that others find attractive.
If you do decide to share your idea with a presentation, make sure you cover the following:
● The problem, challenge or need the product meets
● The product's features and benefits
● Your product's market
● The legal status of your invention (ie: patent pending, copyright or trademark info)
You want your presentation to be helpful and attractive, but it shouldn’t contain too much information. The presentation should come alive with you presenting it - it can’t be an informational pack that renders you pretty useless.
Make sure you answer all of the most important questions
As well as knowing the answer to things like why they don’t have anything to worry about,
Answer questions like the following:
● Which customer pains you will alleviate
● What the vision for your business is and why you care
● The problem/opportunity you have identified
● The group of customers you will target
● Who your competition is
People don’t just want to know what your idea is. They want to know why it’s so great. Knowing why it’s valuable and what everybody stands to gain from it is key if you want to get everybody onboard. Make sure you figure this all out before you sell your idea.
Come up with an elevator pitch
Coming up with an elevator pitch will help you to share and sell your idea in the shortest amount of time possible. It is often the thing that a person or company leads with when selling an idea. It should be no more than a few sentences. For example, you should be able to say it in 30 seconds or less, or write it on the back of a business card. Think carefully about what yours is and make sure it’s strong enough to lead with.
Are you ready to sell your next great idea? You will be if you use the advice here!