There is an interesting common statement from the business owners presenting to investors on “Shark Tank” that piques my interest every time I hear it.
There is variation on the verbiage, but the statement is always an admission that the business owner was really excited about the opportunity to work with a particular shark.
It’s as if the other sharks didn’t particularly matter now that the deal with their target shot is accepted.
Since this statement can only be said if a business owner does a deal with their favorite shark, or is at least willing to lie and tell the shark they are doing the deal with is their favorite, I always wonder about the ones who don’t declare undying love and affection for the investor who has actually become their angel, as opposed to the investors they may have really wanted.
Most of us business owners, large or small, will never get the opportunity for a highly edited sales pitch to Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, or ‘Mister Wonderful’ Kevin O’Leary. But we do instinctively pull the same emotional stunt of wishing for the right ‘person’ to come along and save us, whether a single business partner or a highly motivated customer group.
We are looking for our own personal business white knight. A man or woman worthy of putting their poster on the adolescent bedroom wall in our minds. And when someone other than our requested savior comes to put in the work to actually save up, whether it’s giving us resources and assistance, or handing over cash to buy our services and products, our general response is, ‘Meh.’
If you want to survive in business, you will have to be open to the possibilities of who will actually answer the call to become the best partners or your key customers.
First, know that anyone with cash in hand is not in your target demo, but don’t make it too difficult for anyone with cash in hand to hand it over to you. A sale is a sale, and good money is good money, regardless of who it comes from. If its bad money, you should act accordingly. But if it is good money, you get an unexpected sale, and hopefully, referrals to potential steady clients that may look more like your demo.
Second, make a note of who is finding you, and who is finding you consistently. There is an old business analogy about a hardware store owner that had two individuals come to his shop one morning asking for a particular tool he never carried. When the third individual came in that afternoon asking for the same tool, he told that man it was on back order and had him put down a deposit to make sure he was one of the first customers to get the tool once the delivery was made.
Finally, don’t make a customer feel bad because they don’t look like the customer you thought you should be serving. Think of the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, inspired by a real-life story of a man who inherits a failing shoe factory and finds himself bailed out by an unlikely alliance with cabaret performers and drag queens, not by the established businessmen who were once the bulk of the company’s sales.
Don’t be so quick to thank that dream investor for believing in your vision that you fail to acknowledge the odds of that person wanting to invest in you or the people who are right there in front of you waiting to offer support. Don’t be so crass in your marketing to target those who should love your product that you ignore those who actually like your product and are willing to pay for it now.