

Selling to small businesses is damn hard. Here’s How. - bdclimber14
http://www.seancoleman.net/

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veb
Nice post. I really like <http://www.orangeslyce.com/> \- I just wish there
was one for programming too, now that would be good for some extra cash.
There's a site similar (but for anything) in New Zealand, which is run by the
Government, but you can only access it if you're a student, which I am not
anymore... and it's shit website.

About your article, "preferably even giving a call" - I've struck this one,
and it cost me my job. Backstory: I'm hearing impaired, applied for a job at a
small business as a PHP-dev and I spent about 40 hours working on planning the
architecture for the system etc, then a few days later my friend who got the
job with me, gets a phone call to tell me "not to come back to the office"
because "I can't call him" ;( I can do everything else absolutely fine, e.g.
email, listening, talking, conversing... and I never got paid either!

Maybe I dodged a bullet there, because my friend would get calls _all_ the
time, about random shit so he'd end up talking for hours (without pay).

TL;DR Small business owners can be evil

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bdclimber14
Aw man, rough story. Maybe even illegal, but I don't know your country's laws.
Besides, its probably his loss. Honestly I have wasted a ton of time on the
phone too... but it actually can save time emailing back and forth as well.

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geekfactor
Hmmm, I found this post underwhelming, and it didn't deliver on the title for
me.

The observations up front apply to people in general, not just small business
owners. People are busy, impatient, prideful, etc.

The recommendations are similarly lightweight. Be attentive, be nice, be
patient. K, thx.

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dools
If you google "define:entrepreneur" then the first definition is:

"someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it"

so small businesses are run by entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur has to go down in
history with "irony", "literally" and "physically" as being the most misused
words in modern English.

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bdclimber14
Sure, I agree that's the dictionary definition. But I needed to make a
distinction between someone who owns and operates a lifestyle business, and
someone who seeks to grow an organization. Colloquially, I find entrepreneur
is used to describe the latter.

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edw519
Nice post. Here are a few more:

Small business owners are always concerned about revenue. Always. They know
there are 2 ways to solve almost any small business problem: (a) Work like
hell on 42 different things, or (b) Add sales. Find a way to show them new
orders and you will get their attention.

Small business owners often feel like they must defeat someone else in order
to win (whether it's true or not). Always leave a little wiggle room in price
or terms so that they can enjoy the feeling of a victorious negotiation.

Small business owners appreciate simplicity. Confuse them with technology or
jargon and they will move on to something they understand better.

Small business owners understand the importance of other people in their
business. Show them that you do too and that will go a long way toward your
credibility.

Every small business owner has a few pet peeves that drive them nuts. It might
be the outrageous cost of something or how difficult it is to get something
done. Discover and solve these things and you could go far.

Small business owners are especially sensitive to bullshit. If you're a poser,
save yourself the trouble and move along.

Small business owners often have a bigger "real mission" for being in
business. Find out what that is and help them achieve it. They will really
appreciate you for that.

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robbie7
Original article link: [http://www.seancoleman.net/post/2627588699/selling-to-
small-...](http://www.seancoleman.net/post/2627588699/selling-to-small-
businesses-is-damn-hard-heres-how)

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citricsquid
So this article seems to treat startups and small businesses completely
different, but I always assumed they were very similar. What's the difference
between a startup and a small business?

(in the context of the article)

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keeptrying
A business is something that has clearly defined cash flows. Ie you put money
here and you get money there.

A startup is a new venture which is trying to become a business.

Read drucker's "innovation and entrepreneurship" - he clearly describes the
difference. Infact if you read this one book, you can skip every other
business book including "4 steps to the epiphany", . It's incredible that his
book was written in 1985!

~~~
vdm
Great answer and thanks for the recommendation.

