No Guts, No Glory?
Selling audaciously is sometimes the best way to lure clients and investors to your business. But when do your words and promises cross the line?
Companies on the fast track often bend the rules with
investors and clients to keep up their growth curve. In the
following excerpt from MoneyHunt: 27 New Rules for Creating and
Growing a Breakaway Business (HarperCollins), authors Miles
Spencer and Cliff Ennico, co-hosts of MoneyHunt, a TV show
featuring entrepreneurial success stories, tell the tale of one
entrepreneur's say-anything strategy that won over clients and
investors.
Successful businesspeople are, first and foremost, salespeople.
If you cannot sell, do not, we repeat, do not start your own
company. We're all comfortable selling ourselves when we're
certain we can deliver all the things we promise. But what about
the times when we're not sure we can deliver? We've been
told since childhood it's not wise or ethical to promise
something if you know there is a risk you'll break a promise.
Sometimes, however, being a successful salesperson and getting the
big deal that makes or breaks your company requires that you do
precisely that. And that takes sheer audacity.
When you sell audaciously, you're taking a big risk. Except
in some extraordinary circumstances, you won't get away with
it. In the short term, you can succeed with BS. But sooner or
later, you have to prove to the marketplace (and to yourself) that
it isn't just BS. You have to back your words up with real
performance.
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