A lot of glory in any start-up tends to go to the designers and engineers, they make the visible stuff, the stuff that gets written about, the stuff that wins awards. But the success of any start-up is really down to the people treading the streets, getting toes in door, getting in-your-face-time with wavering clients and Making A Sale – the Sales People. The newspaper we made with Folksy is a great example of this unsung art in operation. James has done us the favour of letting us peek inside the conversation:
The first rule of the patented Newspaper Club Always Be Selling Process (TM) – Positivity and Pith! There are two words here and they’re both positive. This is textbook.
I don’t believe this bit of the conversation actually happened, a Top-Class Sales Person (TM) wouldn’t use a word like hindsight because it fails two rules of Hard Sales Language – No Soft Vowels and No Long Words. Anyway.
And here’s The Close. Observe the Textbook use of monosyllabic words and strict adherence to ABCIFTK principles (Always Be Coming In For The Kill).
This is how a start-up gets started-up. Sales. Hard-nosed, hard-faced, leave-nothing-on-the-table, get-your-tanks-on-their-lawn salespersonship. Let’s not forget that.
Seriously though. Big thanks to all the folksy folk. This is a lovely project, we’re very glad to help. More pictures will follow shortly.
Wed, 2 Dec 2009 at 3:00 pm
jamesb Permalink
you’re right, you didn’t say hindsight, I padded that bit out. You went straight to The Close and I went to get the chips whilst you did a celebratory shuffle in the kitchen.
Thu, 10 Dec 2009 at 8:10 pm
Catherine Permalink
I think maybe I went to the same sales training school you did! Work in media sales perchance?! Very funny. Lovely business idea this – bespoke newspapers, gorgeous. And nice to see you working with Folksy.
I assume you’ll be observing eco-friendly operations?
Not that I should assume – makes an ass out of u and me, as we used to say in sales training…
Groan.
x
Catherine
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 at 1:25 am
Magtastic Blogsplosion | What newspapers did next (2) Permalink
[...] the tools to the people to create a sudden flurry of hyper-local newspapers, creative fanzines, affordable catalogues, unusual teaching tools/reading lists, remarkable experiments in democracy and community, stunning [...]
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 at 4:45 pm
ed whymandesign Permalink
Keep up the great work. Posted the comment a while back and thought you could collaborate with the contacts below?…
Just saw this http://www.sweeble.com/ which may be of interest?
Would love to help Newspaper Club grow as a CIC or Not For Profit:)
Just Tweeted this FYI
@knowhownonprof @4ip @newspaperclub @newspepper http://www.printcasting.com info@sweeble.com @sweeble http://www.newspaperclub.co.uk @SueGreenwood