Selling to companies is different than selling to consumers

Consumers (you and me) have very complex and sometimes irrational buying behavior, but companies are motivated by just two things: 1) Increase revenue, and 2) Cut costs

The fact that they have these straightforward goals makes it easier to understand how they make decisions. Unlike consumers, they make very rational decisions about what they buy.

If you solve a big problem for them, they can pay a lot of money for the solution. And their problems aren’t always obvious to the casual observer – you have to really get in there and learn about the business, which means there can be less competition for some of these big opportunities. That’s why we focus mostly on business-to-business opportunities in this class.

There are infinite approaches to increasing revenue and lowering cost – which what makes business fun and creates opportunity for innovative startups like yours. It’s OK for your solution to be new and innovative, but it needs to be grounded in those two fundamental business objectives.

Never forget what you’re trying to do for your business and for your customer: increase revenue and lower cost.

I asked Mike McFall to share a story about remembering business fundamentals

Mike McFall is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BIGGBY Coffee. His new book, “Grind” is a practical guide to starting a new business and he is the new co-instructor for the extremely popular course offered through the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship: “Finding Your Venture”.

Mike’s success as a franchisor requires fanatical attention to detail and an obsessive focus on revenue and costs. The story he tells is a great reminder about not getting lost in the weeds and forgetting the big picture objectives.