The human side of business

You have invented an amazing new application or new service that will revolutionize the way we do business. So where do you go from here?  At some point sooner than later, you or someone in your company, if you have one, is going to have interactions with many people if you want to profit from your venture.

The truth is that in spite of all the great social media tools we have to build our image and brand these tools will not bring customers to beat down our doors to acquire our product(s) or services. You have to get in front of customers and have meaningful discussions and interactions to move forward the possibility that they might want to buy what you have to offer.

Some of the most successful business people have great communication skills which include speaking, asking the right kind of questions that uncover concerns about what your potential client really thinks about what your offer. One of the most important abilities in human interaction is the ability to listen effectively, because you can learn more about your potential clients by hearing what they have to say than always talking at them.

Now some of us are naturally born extroverts who love to interact with people, but many of us are not. You don’t have to be a charismatic personality to be a successful entrepreneur, you just have to be able to communicate effectively and that can be learned like any other skill. If you are frozen with fear about interacting with strangers, get over it or find someone to partner with who is both comfortable with and skilled at human interactions.  

The reality of business is that at some point it requires the face to face interaction of two or more individuals to set a business relationship in motion.  So get out there and build your reputation and brand by meeting with the people you believe would benefit from your offering,  a little sense of humour would not hurt either.