TV pilots, especially the successful ones, are a great analogy for how to conduct product concept demos. At least, that is the insight I gained as I was watching the pilot episode of House M.D. You see, I am working with an early stage startup who’s getting ready for their demo to secure more funding. So, my goal is to get some creative juices flowing and get connected with my muses for more creative powers… So, lets take a look at how to build a successful product demo by dissecting a pilot episode.

First, you gotta start with a compelling concept. This does not mean you spend the next 20 minutes lecturing someone in the coolness of your technology. But, it is about focusing on the problem that you are solving, and succinctly explaining how your product solves it and why people will buy it. The key is to highlight your unique differentiation, your original angle, so it captures interest and makes people curious.

Once you got the interest, next is your story line. As you are putting your story together, keep the focus on what makes you and your product unique, as well as what its key selling points are. Remember, it is not about showing every single feature of your product, but more about incorporating your purpose and your compelling concept into your demo. If you say everything, you end up saying noting at all… So, build a story line around what matters, such as your users, and make it fantastic.

You also need to build in drama and diversity. Remember, to make it stick, you gotta make it simple, concrete, credible, emotional and bring unexpectedness with each story (Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.) What will make the show catchy so people will tune in week after week, season after season? So, talk about the state of the industry, where things are heading, who are your competitors, why they can’t copy you and how you plan to sustain your competitive advantage. Make it exciting as you talk about the commercialization potentials of your product, what you will leverage and how. Most importantly, make it stick!

What about the special effects? Certainly who you are, the brand and the image of your company and product, needs to come through loud and clear during the presentation. However, have you ever seen a pilot episode having a better special effects than even the first season release? Make the quality of your presentation (images, graphs, …) as great as possible, but don’t forget about what really matters the most.

Lets not forget your cast and crew. After all, chemistry and ability to work together on and off the set is just as important as the artistic credibility of the individuals. So, highlight your team and their background. Especially if you have exceptional skills and experiences in the team. Remember, you gotta be credible! Not to forget truthful and passionate about what your are doing. You can’t tell it; you have to show it and mean it!

Lastly, don’t forget to study your audience before the presentation. Think about it, pitching The Man Show to Lifetime Movie Network makes as much sense as Chewbacca living on the planet Endor. So, research the backgrounds of the individuals you are meeting with and tailor your presentation to deliver to their requirements. Be confident and comfortable with your audience.

This covers the key elements of building your demo. Now, your script also needs to deal with your business model. The amount of time you need to spend on it during your demo will mainly depend on two factors: 1) how far along you are in your business; and 2) your audience. For early stage startups, many investors look at the business model as a moving target. So, with that, your story, the problem you are solving, how you are solving it and what you have prototyped is far more important than any 5-year projections.

However, that doesn’t let you off the hook. You need to have a clear understanding of your business and be able to sell them on your elevator pitch. So be ready with an executive summary of your business plan that not only they can walk away with, but also compels them to take action. In a way, this is the rolled up summary of your presentation that is clear, to the point and exciting. And, not to forget realistic.

With that… Lights, camera, action!

Technorati Tags: business pitch, product demo, chewbacca

“We cannot direct the wind,
but we can adjust the sails”
— Contemporary Western Proverb

Your firm is a living organism, a complex system. As with all living systems, it self-maintains, self-renews and evolves. The firms that recognize themselves as a living organism, a learning organization are aware of their environment, their place in the ecosystem and the shifts that are occurring. This awareness and sensitivity to internal and external changes gives them the flexibility to adjust and adapt.

“Adapt or die” is a common phrase that highlights the importance of survival for firms. As firms adapt and evolve, the organization determines and selects the traits necessary for the survival and through its culture continuously reinforces it. This continuous process of adaptation and evolution further ensures the success and survival of the successive generation.

The life-cycle refers to our knowledge and generalization of living systems, the principles and laws that govern life from birth till death. As businesses, we also go through our life-cycle stages. As always, these are guidelines and not definite steps. As with my son that skipped the crawling stage and went to straight to walking, firms can also skip stages. Here are the common stages of a business life-cycle:

• Seed: Similar to a plant life-cycle, the seed stage represents the germination of a compelling concept and the push for finding the first set of customers to validate the idea. The firm’s main challenge is market acceptance, and managing resources and time effectively.
• Startup: This stage is characterized as customer acceptance, where the focus shifts to obtaining new customers and delivering on the product’s promise. Usually at this stage, the firm has enough customers, are able to keep them satisfied and the focus is shifting from survival to managing revenues and expenses. The firms’ main challenge is to have checks and balances to ensure they are on track, and managing the burn rate. This is where you don’t want to run out of money…
• Growth: Congratulations, you have proven the idea, showed the market validity and are now acquiring many more new customers. The growth stage is a milestone that marks the validation of the idea, which also means increased competition. If the firm is focused on growth, it will strive for operational excellence, proper scaling of the product and the business, and will look at ways to expand into new businesses, markets and customers.
• Decline: This stage is usually marked by the reduced revenue and profitability. At this stage, there may be a crisis that calls for action and renewal. Or, the organization might be the frog in a pot of cold water, slowly being boiled, not realizing the situation they are in. All focus is now on managing negative cash flow and costs.
• Exit: The exit stage is all about closing the doors whether due to bankruptcy, selling the business, acquisition by someone, … This process mainly includes proper valuation of the company. There maybe psychological and financial impact that should be managed.

Just like a child growing up, each stage is a change, requiring different nurturing and focus areas for its survival. Yet, basics are needed for survival at every stage: basic management skills, basic financial knowhow, basic marketing competencies. In addition, there are also other factors to consider:

• Clarity on what you are and what you are not. This is important for your internal decision making, for your customers and your brand image. This continuous adjustment, explicit commitment and mutual adjustment from everyone is needed to achieve results.
• Know how you compete. Many new firms excel because they stress customer service and flexibility over what established firms can offer. This coupled with focus on high-quality products, flexibility in responding to customer needs and product customization gives them a boost in the market over competition.
• Innovate while managing your core business. It is too easy to put all your eggs in one basket or over commit yourself. Innovation and technology strategies correlated with growth, but need to be managed.
• Understand other life-cycles in motion, such as those of your customers. Where they are in their adoption curve drives their purchasing behavior and risk profile.

Technorati Tags: business life-cycle, business survival skills

Strategic planning is all about the future: where you are going over the next 3+ years, how you plan to get there and how you know when you arrive to your destination. However, your success at your strategic planning all depends on how well you know yourself, and your starting point.

Here are few key areas where you should build a good foundation and understanding in order to achieve success at your strategic plans. It is a good starting point, but not all inclusive. Please add to this list with your experience and insights.

Know yourself
This is all about self-examination and being introspective. It is about recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, understanding your distinctive competencies and realizing your competitive advantage. This process requires you to be true to yourself about who you are, so you can chart a course for who you want to become.

Know your customer
You want to understand your customer better than your customer understands herself. What keeps them up at night; what they don’t foresee today, but will need tomorrow; what motivates them to buy and turns them off; what makes them successful; why their customers prefer them to others; how are they profitable … This is where you are wishing for a mind-meld approach to getting to know your customer. In the end, you want to become a specialist in your customer’s businesses. It will help you understand their articulated needs, but also help you innovate for the unarticulated opportunities.

Know your competitor
You need to understand your competitors and your industry in order to play the game. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors? Why are your customers choosing your competitors’ products? What is the layout of the industry structure; how is the ecosystem playing out; what are the trends; … These will help you to identify new opportunities and potential threats.

Know your data
What do you need to insure a sound decision making process? What key performance indicators do you need to benchmark and watch for? Always remember the saying: garbage in – garbage out.

Apply differentiation
There is a subtle yet important difference between being different and differentiating yourself. You don’t just want to be different. In everything you do, you want to offer significant value over your competitors. You want that value to shine through your brand image where your customers, current and future, can clearly recognize it.

Create your safe haven
We are living in a global world where competition is everywhere and customer loyalty is in demand more than ever. Recognize the challenge, and figure out how to create high entry barriers to protect yourself using your strengths. Aside from patents, look to build exceptional customer relationships, alliances and partnerships.

Know your resources
There are always more things we want to do than would fit into the time and resources available. But, that is no excuse to spread your resources too thin. Multi-tasking, frequent context switching will kill the productivity of your team. Instead, prioritize and stay flexible.

Be agile and adapt
In a way, everything is in a constant flux and all things change. So, be alert, stay in control and watch for shifts in the marketplace and in your customers. Recognize the changes, be agile and adapt accordingly.

Minimize your dependence
No doubt we can’t do it all ourselves and we need help. At the same time, recognize your dependencies and work to minimize them. This could be anything from your one customer, a product, partnerships or alliances.

Technorati Tags: strategic planning process, strategic plans, know yourself