“Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs …” by Sarah Lacy (John Wiley & Sons, $24.95).
From Rwanda to Brazil to Indonesia, global entrepreneurs drink that same unmistakable, energizing cocktail of determination and ambition that drove the founders of Microsoft, FedEx, Google, Facebook, Apple, etc. Here’s a look at some of these global entrepreneurs:
Rwanda is the home of Soft Goods, a manufacturing and packaging enterprise founded by Jean de Dieu Kagabo. The company makes stuff people need: toilet paper, napkins, diapers, toothpaste — and even tomato paste. Instead of importing branded goods, he imports large quantities of material that can be packaged; think rolls of various types of paper and drums of toothpaste and tomato paste. Where the world sees strife and unrest, he sees and seizes opportunity.
Marco Gomes lives in Sao Paolo, Brazil far from the neighborhood in Gama where certain blocks were off limits and the only thing that distinguished thugs from cops were the guns they carried. He had an idea he called the boo-box. What? It’s a hyperlink box bloggers embed in the stories they write about products. Click on the boo-box and you’re taken to a site where you can buy the product.
While this concept has been done in the U.S., it’s still novel in Brazil’s $2 billion/year online advertising market. With only 25 percent of Brazilians online, there’s tremendous growth potential. U.S. companies doing business in Brazil have taken notice, too.
In Indonesia decades past, Ciputra suggested to Walt Disney that the two partner to build a Disneyland in Jakarta. Disney declined. Ciputra acquired oceanfront property and built an amusement park. Then he built out the waterfront and added hotels, restaurants, golf courses and a Sea World. As the pendulum of political unrest swung to and fro is succeeding decades, Ciputra continued building. Most of the office and commercial structures in Jakarta were built by his firm.
But, he’s not done. Now over 70, he’s used $20 million of his fortune to train Indonesian entrepreneurs. His train-the-trainer program has grown to over 2,000 teachers.
Lacy’s message as told through the stories of entrepreneurs around the world: Ideas, talent and money know no boundaries.
“Sell Yourself First: The Most Critical Element in Every Sales Effort” by Thomas Freese (Portfolio Penguin, $25.95).
Every sales training course focuses on uncovering the customer’s needs and selling solutions not product. What those courses don’t teach: “Customers won’t just trust anyone.” To wit: Used car sales people rank slightly lower than politicians on the “trust me” scale. If the customer doesn’t buy your credibility as a problem solver, you won’t close a deal.
So, the first product you have to sell a prospect is you. Freese sees the selling-you process akin to a job interview. Think of yourself as a candidate; the prospect is the interviewer/hiring manager. Your résumé is your sales literature. It got you the interview. What’s the hiring manager looking for by asking you all those questions? Your intangibles — are you a team player; can you take a project and run with it; are you likable; do you have a positive attitude, etc.? Those intangibles differentiate each candidate.
The wise candidate doesn’t sell his/her intangibles with I-I-I sentences. Her/His comments focus on how things were done and what was achieved. The stories always refer to the résumé (i.e. product literature) and emphasize situations where collaboration produced results.
In product/service sales, the salesperson uses the same approach with a subtle change. Instead of starting by highlighting a solution to a problem, the salesperson starts by stating the problem (i.e. Customer X was experiencing…). Step two involves how you and your team worked with the customer to identify cost-efficient and cost-effective alternatives. Last, introduce the solution and how it solved the problem. Your prospect identifies with the process and your approach to solving problems.
Differentiating how you sell will differentiate your product, too.
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
