9 Tips to Connect with People after You Make Your Speech
Typically, in making a speech at a public forum, businesspeople hope to get a return on their investment. After all, giving a great speech or serving on a panel before a targeted audience necessitates your valuable time and effort in preparation.
You could give a speech and then go back to your office waiting for the phone to ring.
Or, you could give a talk and then take strategic steps so that you can further connect with the individuals sitting in the audience – for strong results.
The latter point can lead to a strong ROI, if you effectively manage the crowd.
A widely acclaimed Los Angeles consultant and valued friend of mine, Joey Tamer, knows the important details to manage the audience members – after she gives a talk or serves on a panel.
Ms. Tamer made her stellar reputation as a strategic consultant to technology and media, and she’s been a frequent contributor to this business-coaching portal.
Make audience feel comfortable
In other words, she knows how to make people comfortable so that they will wait in line to talk with you.
Her nine recommendations:
- Move away from the podium. If the room is needed for the next speaker, move into the hallway or the speakers lounge (if it is nearby) with your crowd.
- If you can, set a stack of your business cards a full arm’s reach away from you on a table, so folks can pick one up if they don’t want to speak with you directly at this time, or cannot wait in line for the chance, or if they want to learn more before contacting you.
- Keep more of your business cards in your left hand pocket.
- Acknowledge the line of people waiting to speak with you, with a nod and a welcoming smile at the line.
- Focus on the person in front of you. Offer direct eye contact and shake hands (with your right hand) while offering your business card with your left (from your left hand pocket).
- Focus on the person’s name so you know it. Ask for their card.
- If they hand you a laminated card (all the rage just now, but you cannot write on them), pull out a post-it (2 1/2 inch by 1 inch) from your pocket and write your notes on that.
- You must take notes on the cards. You will not remember what each person said. Not even later tonight. And remembering will distract you from the next person in line.
- Set aside high-maintenance talkers who disregard the others in line. Smile deeply at them, and say “Please, I want to attend to your questions in depth. Let me speak with these people who are waiting, and come back to you in a few minutes to speak in more detail.” If that person objects, ask them to phone you the next day (offer specific times you will be at your desk). If they phone, they are serious; if not, it won’t matter.
When to mention contact info
“If you are wise, you will have offered your URL and email address during your introduction before speaking, so those who did not wait can still contact you,” says Ms. Tamer.
“Allowing yourself to be accessible in these ways will smooth the way to expanding your network of colleagues, contacts, prospects, customers and clients,” she adds.
Public speakers are admirably assertive people. But you have to do more than just give a speech in order to manage the crowd.
Visit Ms. Tamer’s Web site and blog at www.joeytamer.com.
From the Coach’s Corner, for more valuable tips on speaking, see these articles:
- How to Get More Opportunities as a Guest Speaker
- How to Obtain the Most Profit from Speaking Opportunities
- Acting, Speaking Coach: How to Improve Communication with Others
- Public Speaking Tips – for Speeches in Accepting Awards, Honors
“When you can’t wait for your ship to come in, you’ve got to row out to it.”
-Greer Garson
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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.
CES: Best Business Strategies to Get Tech Funding
Jan. 24, 2012
If you have a tech startup looking for funds, you already know the competition is intense. But there are strategies that will help you to get funded. Investors revealed their preferences for funding technology firms at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
On her blog, the chair of the CES venture capital panel, Joey Tamer, writes “each early stage fund planned to invest in a Series A for four or five new early stage companies during this year.”
When she’s not chairing venture panels, Ms. Tamer is an outstanding Los Angeles-based strategic consultant to technology and media (www.joeytamer.com).
“In the case of Jerusalem Venture Partners, Yoav Tzruya reported that this number represents no more than 1 percent of the 600 companies JVP reviews each year for its early stage fund,” says Ms. Tamer.
“Kevin Spain of Emergence Capital which has a focus on B2B applications, and Chris Petrovic of GameStop Digital which is a strategic investor/acquirer of game companies, as well as Habib Kairouz of Rho Capital agreed with the plan for four to five new deals this year,” she adds.
Improved environment
“We are in a boom period again, this time for the number of early stage companies in play in the market,” Ms. Tamer explains. “The continuing trend that allows for new technologies and applications to be built with many off-the-shelf tools, using world-wide technical expertise, for much less capital, has created many new companies competing for the funding resources available.
“The new trend of incubating companies in accelerators has added some seed capital to these concept-companies to get them through their initial product development,” she says. “But then these companies need to get some traction in the market, hopefully to significant revenue, before they can hope to move from seed capital to Series A.”
Optional strategies
Ms. Tamer indicates you have options to consider if you can’t get from seed to Series A or from Series A to Series B.
“Early stage companies not attracting that critical Series A or Series B funding should consider connecting strategically or through acquisition or merger with other similar-stage companies to create a stronger offering for funding,” she advises. “Aligning with other early companies that would enhance your market position or extend your product offerings or brand, you might attract that essential next stage of funding.”
She explains a developing trend.
“Kevin Spain added a new point, that he sees a strong emerging trend in B2B and enterprise applications using the new technologies that are mostly focused on the consumer market now,” she writes. “He advised companies to look for those B2B market opportunities for their current B2C products and applications. A doubling of your target markets, which rise and fall under different economic conditions, may present a strong offering to investors.”
She explains the motivation of two investors.
“Scott English from Hearst and Chris Petrovic of GameStop approach their investments as strategic additions to their portfolios, rather than as pure venture investments –even though each has a different priority for these investments,” she explains.
“The first point made was to conduct your due diligence about how strategic investors value their target companies,” Ms. Tamer says. “Hearst, for example, is a later stage investor focused on financial ROI to Hearst first, and strategic value to the portfolio second. GameStop, focused on early stage game companies, values its acquisition targets first as an operational addition to its portfolio plan (does the company add to GameStop’s infrastructure, product mix, learning about new markets, or strategy) before financial and ROI considerations.”
She explains some lessons:
- Do your homework about your company’s “fit” with what an investment group might be seeking.
- Talk with other companies in the investor’s portfolio.
- Narrow down your list and your efforts to those investors that prefer your company’s stage, market sector, and your possible enhancement of their portfolio’s current companies.
- Some strategic and corporate investors function very much like venture capitalists, and others have different priorities. So, after your due diligence, and as you enter discussions, read the deal’s restrictions and the detailed legal conditions before negotiating or accepting any investment.
Critical factors to help you win
“Norm Fogelsong of Institutional Venture Partners, a later-stage venture fund, insisted that your company’s vision must be big, very big, to attract the rounds of capital needed to become a major player,” she points out.
“The panelists agreed that they are very focused on execution, in particular execution on market penetration,” Ms. Tamer advises. “After you have been funded on your product’s unique value, it is time to turn your attention to your market, especially your customer acquisition and retention strategies, tactics and results.”
She provides another insight: “Yoav related that he looked for CEOs with deep market savvy, a founder who knows his or her product and its market realities, and has a strong go-to-market strategy.”
Ms. Tamer shares the insights of Sharon Wienbar of Scale Venture Partners, a later stage investor, who wants to minimize risk three ways:
- Proof of market responsiveness: Does your customer commit to your vision of your product’s value, price and use?
- A business model that prioritizes customer acquisition and retention: Do you have a plan that acquires each new customer quickly and for less and less cost of acquisition?
- Compelling metrics: are your projections for market penetration, growth and profitability backed up by proven metrics?
“So, amid the growing competition for capital we are seeing this year, particularly in the consumer market, investors’ focus seems to move quickly from unique technologies and applications to strong execution,” concludes Ms. Tamer. “Early stage companies need strategies to present compelling offerings to investors, and an increasing focus on market execution that leads to growing a big company and taking significant market share.”
Hope you enjoyed these insights. As usual, Ms. Tamer speaks and writes with authority.
(Note: I’m very familiar with Ms. Tamer’s expertise. She is a fellow member of Consultants West, www.consultantswest.com, a roundtable of veteran consultants in the Los Angeles area.)
From the Coach’s Corner, here are more of Ms. Tamer’s valuable insights:
How To Get More Opportunities As A Guest Speaker
How To Obtain The Most Profit From Speaking Opportunities
6 Values for Financial Protection
Options to Navigate This Marketplace Bedlam
What Should You Divulge When Asking for Investment Capital?
Eight Strategies to Consider Before Starting A Tech Business
What No One Tells You about Raising Investment Capital
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
-Walt Disney
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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
How to Get More Opportunities as a Guest Speaker
If you’re successful in generating speaking opportunities, you’ll create opportunities for your career. At the least, you’ll be in a position to raise your business profile.
Ideally, prospective clients or customers will be in the audience. Count on opportunities to develop centers of influence — people who can refer business to you. You can expand your comfort zone. Also, you can learn a lot by teaching or speaking. By elevating your profile, it’s easier to keep your clients. At the very least, public speaking will help to keep your skills sharp.
Joey Tamer is in demand as a public speaker and moderator. Based in Los Angeles with an outstanding record of success, Ms. Tamer is a strategic consultant to technology and media.
She’s graciously shares her recommendations on how to be invited to speak at events for your niche industry.
Key first four steps:
- List of all the conferences special to your industry.
- List the events and conferences at which your competitors present (search your competitors’ websites).
- Select the ones that put that targeted decision maker in the audience.
- Refine your selection to prefer events that allow you a solo presentation. Panel participation is fine, but often is not as effective due to the limited time to show your expertise, bad moderators, and other conditions beyond your control. Another high priority includes events that allow either solo or panel presentation, but add on a breakout session or workshop as well.
Due diligence:
- Explore each event or conference website to determine if it attracts your target market in its audience. There will be a list titled “Who should attend.”
- Contact the conference (use an email address not associated with you or your company) to send you the promo package for sponsors or exhibitors. This should give you a much more detailed demographic and psychographic description of the attendees, by percentage (10% CxO, 25% VP, etc.) of rank.
Pitch:
- If the conference or the Call for Speakers lists its agenda of panels or speaking sessions, select the one or two that fit your expertise.
- Draft an introductory email (or fill in a Call for Speakers form) pitching the topic(s) you can offer for those items on the agenda. If there is space allowed, drop the names of at least two major conferences where you have presented this topic (or something similar) previously.
- If the Call for Speakers is open-ended, and no agenda is offered, then study the audience and mission statement of the conference and pitch a series of topics that they might be interested in considering.
- When offering to present, offer a list of two or three topics that might fit. Attach the Speaking page of your website as a PDF attachment.
- In your email, add a link to your speaking page and a link to the home page of your website.
- Your speaking testimonials should be included, usually on the Speaking page of your site. If they are on a separate page of your website, add a link to that page as well. Of course, if you know someone inside the organization that is hosting the conference, connect with that person to get any inside information you might use, or ask him/her to get your pitch letter to the best decision maker inside.
So now you know how to garner invitations to speak. But your job is only half-done. Here are Ms. Tamer’s tips on how to obtain the most profit from speaking opportunities.
For more of Ms. Tamer’s insights, visit www.JoeyTamer.com. You might also want to read her six-part series for a downturn survival, as well as her 10-part series on the 10 characteristics of a successful CEO.
(Note: I’m very familiar with Ms. Tamer’s expertise. She is a fellow member of Consultants West, www.consultantswest.com, a roundtable of veteran consultants in the Los Angeles area.)
From the Coach’s Corner, here are public speaking tips for accepting awards and honors.
“Speech is power: Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.
6 Values for Financial Protection
Part two of two-part series: “Solutions for a Roller Coaster Marketplace”
Esteemed associate Joey Tamer astutely points out that debt is the catalyst for all financial woes – for individuals and the aggregate economy in the United States and globally.
To illustrate, she asserts the first credit card issued by Bank of America enticed baby boomers into using credit for immoderate purchases. We now know the card as Visa. She says financial institutions and governments created low interest rates to trigger spending in the 1980s. In about 2005, Ms. Tamer reminds us how the housing bubble began to swell as banks loaned money for marginally qualified home buyers.
When Ms. Tamer talks, clients profit. She’s a strategic consultant to entrepreneurs in software, internet, technology, and tech/media.
Long after the Great Recession ended, she painfully reiterates an obvious point – there’s no end in sight for this sour economy. So, let’s see what she means in blogging, “Defending ourselves against economic downturns.”
To paraphrase, Ms. Tamer offers six values for you to avoid more financial traps.
1. Avoid debt. “My father, a successful, self-made entrepreneur, taught me that I couldn’t have something I couldn’t pay for,” she writes. “He didn’t even have a mortgage, buying our beautiful home for cash. Don’t go into debt for anything you cannot cover if the loan fails, or that you cannot do without.”
2. Stay in your budget. “There is a great freedom that comes from owing nothing to nobody,” she states. “Without seeming either old-fashioned or conservative (I am neither), there is great freedom of choice in not being beholden (now there’s an old-fashioned word!) to the Big Bank, the Government, the landlord, or your brother.”
3. Be pragmatic about banks, insurance companies and government. “Banks, insurance companies, the government don’t care about you or your individual woes,” she suggests. “Each is driven by its own bottom line: to make profits, to avoid claims (and therefore make profits), and to get re-elected (and therefore to gain power, for good or no).
“If you look calmly at the motivation of any institution, you will learn to protect yourself. You will not be indebted to the Bank, because it can call your loan at any moment, and will only lend you money when you don’t really need it and can prove you can pay it back. You will take painstaking steps to document what you own that the Insurance Company claims to be covering (because if the claim comes due, they will want detailed proof you owned it all, in order to pay). When you vote—yes, you should vote every time as you get the government you elect – do not listen to the rhetoric, look at the voting record. Do those votes reflect what you believe in?”
4. Beware of con artists. “Try to remember, the most charming person can be a theatrical persona, if you do not know him (or her),” she warns. “And also remember, if a deal is too good to be true, it likely isn’t.”
5. Save money. “Truth is, you don’t know when the next economic or industry crisis will hit,” she cautions. “And if you see it coming, you can do some avoidance or damage control, but you probably can’t prevent it or fix it. You can only take care of you and yours, and a buffer of capital solves a lot of problems, and creates freedom and new options that do not exist without the buffer.
“Make a simple savings plan and stick to it.”
6. Keep smiling. “Now, I don’t mean to say the world is full of bad guys,” she writes. “There are lots of wonderful people and companies and institutions and causes in the world.”
As usual, easy-to-understand observations by Ms. Tamer. Certainly, I agree on all six values.
And my sense is that No. 3, “Be pragmatic about banks, insurance companies and government,” is especially good to remember. I’ve long complained about the predatory habits of banks. Personally, in insurance claims that I’ve filed with a leading insurance company, each time has been a hassle. As for government largesse, you can see my watchdog thoughts in this portal’s Public Policy category.
Ms. Tamer’s Web site and blog: www.joeytamer.com.
(Note: I highly recommend Ms. Tamer. She and I are longtime members of Consultants West, a roundtable of veteran consultants and authors, www.consultantswest.com.)
From the Coach’s Corner, see Options to Navigate This Marketplace Bedlam – part 1 of this two-part series: “Solutions for a Roller Coaster Marketplace.”
“Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them.”
-Ogden Nash
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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.
More Capital for Startups? VCs, CEOs Forecast Growth
Venture capitalists and CEOs are optimistic about 2011 – many expect more funding, hiring, higher salaries, and sales – according to a new survey. However, there wasn’t unanimity over forecasting the trend in fundraising in the 2011 Venture View predictions survey by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Dow Jones VentureSource.
Survey respondents included 180 CEOs of VC-supported firms and 330 VCs.
“The improving exit market and a renewed excitement in the IT sector have engendered a confidence among VCs and the CEOs of the companies in which we invest that promises to propel the start-up community forward in 2011,” said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA in a press release.
“While the venture industry will continue to evolve, and likely contract, the companies we fund will continue to grow, innovate and drive the U.S. economy,” he surmised.
“An anticipated rise in venture investment and improvement in the national economy are closely linked,” said Jessica Canning, global research director of Dow Jones VentureSource.
“Venture investment is meant to be spent – on employees, technology, office space and other expenses – which means it reverberates throughout the economy,” Ms. Canning added. “Raising capital also gives companies an opportunity to grow, adding to their headcount and spending power as they try to become the next Google or Apple.”
VC opinions on investments:
- 51 percent anticipate an increase
- 24 percent don’t forecast improvement
- 24 percent expect a decrease
- 51 percent anticipate increases in later-stage investment
- 49 percent forecast expansion and seed investment
- 46 percent expect early-stage investment
- Among the VCs who invest in the earlier stages, 30 percent plan to co-invest more with angels
CEO opinions on VC investment:
- 58 percent forecast increases in VC investments
- 64 percent hope to get new funding
VC expectations on increases in technology:
- 82 percent predict investments in consumer, Internet and digital media
- 80 percent forecast an increase in cloud computing
- 66 percent expect more in mobile/telecom
VCs also make predictions about “froth”. (That’s a term used regarding over-investment.) Sixty-nine expect froth in consumer Internet and digital media, and 47 percent predict froth in cloud computing.
Fifty-three percent of VCs will invest only in the U.S.
Otherwise, VCs will not ignore startups in Asia:
- 26 percent are considering startups in China
- 18 percent are look favorably at opportunities in India
While VCs disagree on the direction of fundraising, there is a consensus on limited partnerships (LP):
- 76 percent anticipate LPs to get favorable consideration
- 48 percent say foreign LPs will get more funds
The economy will improve according to 63 percent of VCs and 64 percent of CEOs.
See the survey-results slide presentation.
From the Coach’s Corner, if you’re looking for funding, here’s a column you’ll want to read featuring the expert opinion of premier strategist Joey Tamer: What No One Tells You about Raising Investment Capital.
Is the U.S. in Danger of Becoming Second-Rate in High Tech?
Updated Aug. 4, 2012
An entrepreneurial scholar, Dr. Scott Shane, ostensibly believes the United States has surrendered its global lead in technology. Dr. Shane is a professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
He was prompted to publish his analysis in Small Business Trends, following a speech by then-Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, the former governor of Washington state, who is now Ambassador to China.
“America’s innovation engine is not as efficient or as effective as it needs to be, and we are not creating as many jobs as we should,” he quoted Mr. Locke, who spoke in introducing the President’s new National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“A study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation looked at the progress at innovation that 40 countries made over the past decade,” wrote Dr. Shane in the publication. “The U.S. came in dead last. That is, whether they were ahead or behind us at innovation in 1999, the 39 other countries examined gained ground on us over the past ten years.”
He added U.S. entrepreneurs were at the top of their game in 1999.
“Other studies also show our less-than-stellar innovation performance,” he asserted. “A recent report by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) looked at the per capita rate at which inventors in 38 nations filed for triadic patents – patents for the same invention filed in the United States, Japan, and Europe. The data shows that, in this event, we’re out of medal contention in eighth place, well behind countries like Switzerland, Japan, and Sweden.”
He cited more OECD data.
“Looking at two measures – the share of companies less than five years old that file patents and the share of patents that went to companies under the age of five – across 13 industrialized countries, the United States came in third, after Norway and Denmark,” wrote Dr. Shane. “While a respectable showing, it’s not where we need or want to be.”
He indicates the number of U.S. patents continue to drop. In 2001, he states 25.9 percent of patents were held by small tech firms. But the share of patents decreased to 19.9 percent by 2009.
“The number of deals made, capital invested, and exits are all down from their levels back in the mid 1990s, before the Internet bubble hit,” he pointed out.
“Venture capital accounts for less of U.S. economic activity than that of many other countries,” he worries. “…in 2008, the U.S. invested a smaller share of its gross domestic product in venture capital than ten OECD countries, and a larger share than only twelve of them.”
A widely acclaimed Los Angeles consultant sheds more light on the decrease in the U.S. VC activity: “Venture capital in the U.S. is more conservative and more limited now than it has been, even before the dot com bubble,” explains Joey Tamer, a strategic consultant to entrepreneurs in software, Internet, technology and digital media.
“And the U.S. Patent office has advised at least one of my technology clients to expect a response sometime in the next six years,” adds Ms. Tamer. “So, if venture capital and patent awards are the measures used, these reports may generate some concern.”
Seattle attorney Joe Wallin, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, says “Congress appears hostile to entrepreneurialism and entrepreneurship,” which naturally means public policy is part of the problem.
“Our Congress has demonstrated an hostility to startups and venture capital, and has tried to pass laws which would have effectively destroyed the startup industry in America,” adds Mr. Wallin.
Indeed, as a strong advocate, he was one the players who was instrumental in helping to get a change in the 2010 financial regulatory law. One component of the original bill would have been hostile to the angel investment community. (For an explanation, see this article: Why Startups Get a Reprieve from Financial ‘Reform’.)
In addition, the most-read topics on this Web site have been the 50+ public-policy articles. Most entrepreneurs are tired of being hamstrung. (As a business-performance consultant, no entrepreneur has ever contacted me to praise public policy. But I’ve had countless businesspeople complain about government or ask me to help them in public affairs and policy).
Math and science education needs a boost. High school drop-out rates of 50 percent aren’t acceptable, but this is not necessarily a criticism of education although there are many underperforming teachers and schools. More importantly, a child’s attitudes are generally formed by the age of six.
This means parents need to encourage their kids to learn at the earliest possible age, to get more involved with their kids’ education at school, and to encourage math and science studies when feasible.
To promote personable responsibility in education, parents and kids apparently need a positive role model, such as a political leader with vision and the inspirational capabilities of President John F. Kennedy. It was JFK, who inspired the best in America’s youth in his brief presidency – everything from 50-mile hikes for physical fitness to the Peace Corps for volunteerism.
But for now, Ms. Tamer sounds a valid note of optimism over America’s high-tech regression.
“On the other hand, entrepreneuring is deeply embedded in the American culture as a positive, even heroic, endeavor,” adds Ms. Tamer. “And many of our most successful entrepreneurs are starting their fifth and sixth companies, and are now only entering their 40s, and so have a long productive and inventive life ahead of them.”
Therefore, Mr. Locke, who indirectly started this discussion, is correct in his assessment, and I extend my congratulations to Dr. Shane for an astute commentary. His message needs to be repeated over and over and over.
Mr. Wallin raises a good point about public policy. Public policy should be encouraging economic development, not looking for ways to inhibit it. Parents need to get involved with the education of their children.
And to Ms. Tamer’s point about the big delays in the U.S. Patent office, six years is unconscionable.
In other words, leadership is badly needed to facilitate entrepreneurial growth – along with Ms. Tamer’s continued optimism about our entrepreneurial capabilities.
Then, let’s get more positive news from the entrepreneurial scholar.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are four resource links:
Joey Tamer’s Web site – www.joeytamer.com
Joe Wallin’s Web address – www.dwt.com/People/JosephMWallin
Dr. Scott Shane’s bio – Case Western Reserve University
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
-Harry S Truman
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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.