Coaching: How are you wired?
Throughout my career I have sat through countless presentations, often bored by all the technical details and diagrams. When I see new technology I see business opportunities, ways to apply it and meet customer needs. Just don’t give me too many details!
I am a self-confessed “Big picture person”. I need the context - why you are developing it - and then I will try to understand the technology.
Many of my friends and colleagues can’t stand sitting in a “blue-sky” conversation or “brainstorming opportunities”. For them it’s too vague and intangible. They need to build their mental image up from the base. They are “Details people”, a trait common amongst good engineers.
Well so what, I hear you say! This is what - there is a level of detail that neither side will be comfortable with when you approach the far end of your comfort zone, so you will most likely avoid it. There are also areas so far out of your comfort zone that you will simply not go there. But there’s also a zone where you are both comfortable and productive.
Most technology companies based around a great technology are inevitably founded by “Details People”, and they are comfortable engaging with other people who appreciate technology. We often call them the early adopters. These people appreciate the solutions the technology could provide, more than its potential commercial applications.
As you grow, you will run out of early adopters and visionaries to sell to. Unless you’re Apple, you won’t count them in the thousands, let alone millions. The more pragmatic buyers are more interested in the benefits it will bring to their needs compared to the alternatives, rather than the product itself. Our “details-person sales rep” is now getting to the edge of her comfort zone.
So, what should you do? Simple. Look for a “Big picture person” to complement your brain wiring. You will not be comfortable with them or may even dislike them as they will not be impressed by your gadgets. But if you identify a large enough zone where you can work together you will have found the perfect partner.
A common mistake made by founders of small growing companies is to hire clones of themselves. For sure there will be a buzz in the office, but probably there will not be a buzz in the revenue curve. Identify the changing needs of your buyers before you reach Geoffrey Moore’s “Chasm” and hire or engage complementary sales skills will go a long way to helping you cross the chasm and carrying on growing in a world dominated by “big-picture” buyers.
This is part of what we at TOG Conseil refer to as the commercial maturity dilemma. Bring in too many differently “wired” people and you risk losing the reason you started the company. Bring in too few, and you may not get across the chasm.
This is why we have built the Mbrace Commercial Maturity tool to help you assess what strengths you need to develop at which stage of your development and how best to do it. Drop us a line if you want to know more details.
Also posted on TOGConseil.com
