Instigator Blog

Did you know that there are many secret sex messages in domain names? It’s true! Who planted them there? Why? What nefarious plan do these sex-crazed domain registrants have for us?

Maybe we’ll never know…

Bill Sweetman at Sweetmantra (great blog name; no secret sex message there that I can see) writes about Delightfully Dumb Domains — but I think he’s failed to see the hidden signs.

Luckily I’m a code-breaking genius. And I see the trickery being put in place by those that register sneaky-sex domain names. Here are some of those domains:

* http://www.whorepresents.com/
* http://www.penisland.net/
* http://www.powergenitalia.com/
* http://www.cummingfirst.com/

Anyway feel as dirty as I do?

From a business level, one has to wonder three things:

1. Is there a business in registering absurd domain names like this and selling them to people who run regular sites but want some added, sexy buzz?

2. How much added traffic are these sites getting because of their domain names?

3. Do the people that registered these domain names still work at these places?

[tags]funny domain names, humor, insane domain names[/tags]

Are you a salesperson? Shame on you.

Ok, I’m kidding, but there’s a reason lots of people are skeptical about salespeople, or just outright dislike them. Too many salespeople are weasels.

So how can you really impress me as a salesperson, and land that knockout punch? (without of course, knocking me out, it’s a figure of speech people, come on!)

It’d be too easy if the answer was just, “be honest.” Let’s face it, I might not even know when you’re being honest, and I might not even believe you when you say, “Ben, I want to tell you honestly…”

The answer is this: Tell me the limitations of what you’re selling. Upfront.

“You mean I should tell you all the problems with what I’m selling right off-the-bat?”

No, that’s not what I said. But I do want to know the limitations of what you’re selling, because they’re not always self-evident, and they could have a huge impact.

Let’s use an example. I’m going out to purchase a fairly complex piece of software. I’ll do my due dilligence but I can’t possibly figure everything out on my own. I’ll ask questions that are important to me, and if you see those questions leading down a path towards a limitation of your software product, tell me.

We used to have a salesperson in my company that didn’t do this. He’d get a lead who was particularly interested in a specific feature, and he’d omit certain details. No product does everything for everyone perfectly. It just doesn’t. So accept that fact.

On occasion, prospects that didn’t get the whole story would become clients. And this is when they’d come to me for implementation. Shortly thereafter we’d both realize that the limitations of the product were going to seriously affect the client’s use of it. What’s that equal to? One unhappy client. And how many of those do you want? Exactly.

Now we approach sales a different way. We’ll come out and tell you what the product doesn’t do. We’re OK with that. It doesn’t have to do everything. If it doesn’t do what you absolutely need, then I don’t want to waste your time or mine. I’d rather say, “This isn’t the best fit. I might recommend X or Y. Thanks for your interest.”

I’d rather have no client than 1 unhappy client.

So tell your leads what your product doesn’t do. Don’t hide that information. Knock ‘em out.

[tags]sales, generating leads, busienss, being honest, success[/tags]

10 years ago today, I started a web design/development business with 4 partners. Two of those partners have since left, while two others joined. The company changed into a software development business. It grew, and then shrank, only to start growing again. It’s almost impossible to count all the significant changes or learning experiences. Sometimes it feels like it’s been a long time, other times it feels short. This is a period of significant reflection for me, in both my personal and professional lives. But I promise not to get too sappy on you. Honest. With that in mind, here are some things I’ve learned from 10 years as an entrepreneur. Certainly, this isn’t everything I’ve learned, but these points (for whatever reason) hover in the back of my mind all the time.

• Being responsible for other people’s livelihoods is an awesome responsibility. I use the word “awesome” because it’s both wonderful and colossal at the same time. If you ever hire someone don’t de-value the fact that your business has created a job.
• Being an entrepreneur does NOT mean doing it alone. You’ll rely on partners, friends, family, contacts, and you’ll do it often. Don’t think that being an entrepreneur puts you in a silo; even if you’re a 1-person operation. But, don’t rely on others to make you successful. Take responsibility and make things happen.
• You will never stop wearing a lot of hats. Hats that fit. Hats that don’t fit. Crappy, tight uncomfortable hats. Hats with holes in them. Beautiful hats. Hats that sparkle. You’ll do what you’re good at and learn to slog through the rest. And you’ll have to learn to do things you don’t like and do them well. And that’ll never stop.
• If you’re going to sleep at the office, at least buy a couch. Many years ago I worked so many hours I slept at the office. Deadlines, ya know? For a stretch of time we were working on so many big projects at once that it become more commonplace than not. And I used to sleep on the floor, or leaning in my chair, or a few times, under my desk. That sounds utterly absurd I know, but it’s true. Then we bought a couch. So I slept on that. Then I got some work-life balance and stopped sleeping at the office altogether (thank goodness.)
• If you do ONE thing right, it should be how you treat your customers. Sure you might have built the next greatest widget with the slickest, hottest technology, but no one cares unless you treat your customers right. I always made customer service my #1 priority; I swear it’s saved my arse many times over.

I don’t have anything special planned today. I’ll go to work, do my thing, think about those 10 years and the next 10 ahead of me. Maybe you’ll have a glass of champagne for me. Just don’t share any with Basil!

[tags]entrepreneurship, business, starting a business[/tags]