Although this blog is typically just about my quest for the Million Dollar iPhone App, I'm going to branch out and start discussing other Marketing, Sales, and New Media topics...
Too many times, people confuse selling, persuading, communicating, and negotiating. Professional Selling is a process, involving many, many steps and many, many skills.
Persuasion is a skill. You can cajole someone into a one time transaction, but you didn't sell them anything, you just tricked them. If you sell someone something they feel good about the transaction and look forward to buying from you again in the future. If you are overly persuasive, your customer will make a bad decision, and blame you for it. There are many points in the sales process where persuasion is helpful and even neccessary, however simply eliciting an emotional "buy" may work for candy in the grocery check-out lane, but isn't the basis of a professional transaction. Too much persuasion makes you slick, like a revivalist stealing from the offering plate or a used car salesman peddling lemons. Communicating is also a skill. Good communication is often a part of persuasion, but you can communicate without being persuasive. Good communication is usually part of the sales process as you educate a client on the benefits of your product or service. However, the most valuable part of communication in the sales process is LISTENING. Understanding a clients needs makes a salesperson better able to address them. Meeting needs is the key to a successful sale. The fast talking salesman belongs with the overly persuasive huckster.
Negotiating should only take place after a sale has been made. Too many times sellers try to negotiate on price as a way of selling thier product. If you buy a product simply because it was a low price you still feel like you got ripped off , because you weren't SOLD on the fact that you needed it to begin with! You still feel tricked! Professional sellers know that price is not the only aspect of the deal that can be negotiated. Length of contract, perks, add-ons, billing arrangement, customer support plans etc. are all opportunities for negotiation.
Next time your selling something - even if it's trying to sell your friends on a particular restaurant for dinner, think about the process. Communicate first, listening to find out thier needs, be persuasive in explaining how your solution fits thier needs, then negotiate once you've reached an agreement in principle. You'll win more often and wind up with happier customers in the process!
I love movies - more than once a movie has literally changed my life. I saw a great movie last night I want to share with you! I broke my ankle 2 weeks ago. Some people like pain killers as a recreational drug, I hate them. They make me depressingly depressed, plus the immobilization, the pain - altogether, not a good time. On top of that, I was a little late getting all the graphics to my iphone developer, he tried to make up time on the project, but now he is running late so that has me down as well. I'm putting in a deck on my house and I'm litterally BROKE for the next SEVERAL pay cycles. The upcoming launch and promotion/marketing of my app is weighing on me 'cuz I know I'll need to spend a little money on a few things and I just don't have it...UGH.
Last night I watched this movie on Showtime 'My Date with Drew' - it's a documentary about a regular guy that has had a crush on Drew Barrymore since he was 10, and he decides to spend 30 days trying to get a date with her. The guy is a bit of a dork, which is endearing to some, but drove me nuts, but in the end, well, you guessed it - he gets a date with Drew.
It's not a movie about love, or being a stalker, or even 'getting the girl.' It's about believing in yourself and daring to do something you want to do...something other people will think you are stupid for trying, something you have little chance of success at, something that may not even have that big of a payoff in the end. Most sales training is about motivation. Staying movtivated is the MOST important factor for being successful, and a 'positive mental attitude' is the foundation of every Tony Robbins / life coach in the world. It's hard. This movie helped me get my mind back on course, so I recommend it to you!
So Vicodin be damned, I'm back on the horse - pursuing my Million Dollar iPhone App!
I've got to design some logos, build some websites, test the beta version, plan the marketing (and oh yeah, buy an iPhone!) but I can do it! I can do it all night!!!
Ironic that I got an opportunity to be included in an article in the 'American Way' magazine around July 4th...for those of you unfamiliar it's the American Airlines in-flight magazine - perfect audience to talk to about iPhone apps!!!
Apparently they are doing an article on the emerging app industry and want to talk to developers about the process - my PR person heard about the opportunity and is going to pitch our little project to them for coverage!!!
I had to do a "1 Sheet" about the project and me so I'll include that below for your review - would love to hear your comments about how I should revise for future use.
Status update...Audio is DONE - Thanks to Adam Schneider! Graphics will be done this weekend - Thanks to Amber Osborne! 1st draft version of the code will be done this weekend - Thanks to Alfred the Great! Still expecting a Beta version on the 17th of this month WOO HOO!!!!
Here's the pitch I sent to the magazine...
Mark Osborne thinks the iPhone is the Wild Wild West of marketing. The fastest guns, tghe savviest snake oil salesmen, and the hardest working prospectors are striking it rich. He decided it was time to practice his quickdraw and pick up a shovel. Mark has promoted bands and sold advertising with radio stations for years. He had friends boom and bust in the dot.com rush of the late 90's and recognizes the same opportunity with the iPhone. He is on a quest to develop a "Million Dollar iPhone App." The irony is he doesn't own an iPhone and has never programmed software!
"Originally it was a project to become more familiar with new technology. I bought a 'for Dummies' book and was going to Tweet and blog about the experience of learning to write and application and sell it through Apple's AppStore," says Mr. Osborne. Then he came up with an idea he thinks will sell and decided to get serious about the project. Calling on his wife's graphic design skills, a friend's closet sound studio, and a college-kid he met on Craigslist who said he could teach him how to code; he is pursuing his dream in his spare time while continuing his day job.
"I have always fancied myself an inventive marketer - the AppStore is an incredible opportunity to test my skills."
Not only is Mark writing a "Million Dollar iPhone App," he is also writing a guide to show others how to turn thier own ideas into success.
"I wanted to write a book that condensed all the things I've learned about marketing from being on the street pushing demo CDs, selling door-to-door, and working with top advertising agencies around the country. The story of developing and selling an iPhone Application seemed like the perfect format."
Mr. Osborne plans to launch his application by Summer's end, completing a 60 day plan to go from day-dream to product. Then the real challenge comes - turning a $.99 application into a goldmine. Every step of the process is documented in his blog, with headlines going out over Twitter and through Facebook status updates, building more and more followers, all of them wondering - Will he succeed?
I'm gonna pat myself on the back today - feel free to watch...
I've fancied myself an entreprenuer for a while, but the fact is I've spent most of my life working for other people. Part of the reason is I'm a bit of a nerd, I like to research, and read, and study, and plan, and review options - Paralysis by Analysis is the catchy way to say it.
I was reading an article by an entreprenuer one time who said we often make the mistake of confusing LEARNING about what we want to do and DOING it...Success isn't learning about it, Success is doing it.
In another article I read the phrase - "You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going." That phrase has served as a good balance to my over analyzing everything. Toward that end, I've tried to just get things going on this project, not worrying about making them perfect.
30 days ago I decided to write an iPhone app, for fun, and blog about it, for fun. Here's what I've done since then, in chronology (all while working my day job, tavelling every week for work, and handling some stuff around the house ).
Bought an instructional book on how to develop and sell iPhone apps (thanks Charlie Parker).
Started a Blog to chronicle the process (thanks Blogger).
Gotten iPhone Developer Status from Apple (thanks Steve Jobs).
Came up with a marketable idea (thanks god).
Registered 6 domain names related to the idea (thanks GoDaddy.com).
Learned enough HTML code to run this blog, set up tracking/analytics on this site and build another website with analytics code and e-commerce built in (thanks StatCounter.com).
Launched a web-site re-selling the instructional book (I thought it was so good I bought licensing rights) (Thanks 000webhost.com).
Registered the web-site and this blog with search engines (thanks Ping o Matic.com).
Learned to integrate Twitter and Facebook for Marketing (thanks blogosphere).
Attracted the attention of new Twitter followers (Thanks Twitter).
Launched advertising campaigns on Yahoo Search, Google Search, and Facebook to promote my web-site and blog (Thanks to all my employers past and present).
Put together a Non Disclosure Agreement (thanks LegalZoom).
Solicited bids from Developers (thanks Scriptlance.com).
Put together a demo movie and uploaded to YouTube for use with developer bids (thanks Wondershare).
Reviewed bids from Developers (thanks for nuthin, most of them were terrible).
Conducted conference calls with Developers from 4 different countries (thanks Skype).
Put together a Freelance Development Contract (thanks again LegalZoom).
Contracted a developer to help me with the heavy lifting on the code (thanks Alfred the GREAT!).
Learned about inserting Analytics into the app (thanks PinchMedia).
Learned about inserting advertising into the app (thanks AdWhirl).
Written the basic framework of the application (thanks For Dummies!).
Developed a Logo (thanks to doodling in High School).
Developed the artwork and graphics for the app (special thanks to my lovely wife for cleaning it up for me).
Taken photos for use in the Application (Thanks Kathie Winsor).
Recorded audio for use in the Application (thanks Adam Schnieder).
Worked with a PR agency to develop a marketing strategy for the application (thanks Deanna Anderson).
Come up with some "Secret Weapon" guerrilla marketing to hopefully push this over the top (thanks Seth Godin).
Contracted an Accountant to make sure I'm doing everything up the right way for the IRS (thanks Lynda Galler).
Set a development timeline and launch deadline (thanks Dad for making me so anal).
PHEW - Sorry to be so self indulgent, but the stated purpose of the blog is to chronicle the journey, 30 days is a big milestone...and I need a little self congratulations to stay motivated and positive.
If you show people a video of a professional basketball team (with or without Kobe and/or Lebron) playing in a darkened gym (and missing lots of baskets and bumping into each other BECAUSE they are in the dark) they will rate the players WORSE than the amatuer players in a video playing with the lights on. Even if you point out that one team is playing in the dark, they will "take that into consideration" and still rate the other team as better. Even if you show them the SAME team - one video they're playing in the light, the other in the dark, they will rate the team playing in the light better. This is called Fundamental Attribution Error.
Fundamental Attirbution Error is the tendency for us to blame the person, not the circumstances. For example, I never let my band play a gig with a bad sound system, because everyone will walk away thinking the band sucks, not that the sound system sucks.
This is the same reason why I cannot tell you about my idea for my iPhone app untill it is ready to roll out. If I don't explain it correctly you will loose interest and decide it's no good. But if you had seen it when it was all done, with the bugs worked out, you'd think it was great. And you never get a second chance to make a first impresssion!
The other reason is I need to focus EVERY purchase/page view I can into 1 24hour period. The AppStore ranks apps based on activity in 1 24hour period. Breaking the top 200, top 100, 25, 10, etc gives an INSTANT lift to sales just because it puts the app on the radar for more people, meaning more sampling, etc etc etc.
So - please stay interested, I'm still shooting for a launch within 60 days! In the meantime I'll keep you posted on the process...
I broke my ankle 2 weeks ago. Some people like pain killers as a recreational drug, I hate them. They make me depressingly depressed, plus the immobilization, the pain - altogether, not a good time. On top of that, I was a little late getting all the graphics to my iphone developer, he tried to make up time on the project, but now he is running late so that has me down as well. I'm putting in a deck on my house and I'm litterally BROKE for the next SEVERAL pay cycles. The upcoming launch and promotion/marketing of my app is weighing on me 'cuz I know I'll need to spend a little money on a few things and I just don't have it...UGH.
So - please stay interested, I'm still shooting for a launch within 60 days! In the meantime I'll keep you posted on the process...
