Selling your idea: How to get people to buy into your idea

Building a business starts with selling your idea:
The journey into entrepreneurship often begins with the conception of an idea. It comes like a lightning bolt with a promise of taking your life on an exciting journey beyond your wildest dreams. The feeling is very much the same for almost every entrepreneur. First, it begins with a feeling of excitement that often comes with the assumption that your idea is the first of its kind and has the potential to change the world. Following closely is the feeling of success that comes as a result of your daydreaming about the seemingly endless possibilities the idea is supposedly expected to usher into your life. This feeling is much like being high on something, because it has a way of making the present condition totally irrelevant and focuses more on the future. Lastly, comes the feeling of urgency when nothing else seems to matter except the realization of the idea. It is no longer sufficient to day dream about the idea, now is when you want it all to happen at once.

Having an idea is ALWAYS the easy part!
As much as we all love these feelings that often follows the conception of an idea, the hard part of being an entrepreneur is coming to terms with the fact that having an idea is always the easy part. Being an entrepreneur is more than just having a great business idea. Being an entrepreneur is about being an individual with a capacity to make things happen. Being an entrepreneur is a matter of credibility much more than creativity. It isn’t about your new big idea; it’s about your whole life experience. What about your life, what about your past points to the fact that you can bring an idea into reality? What stuff are you made up of? Entrepreneurship is about bringing the totality of your life experience to bear in the quest of making something you strongly believe in happen.

Entrepreneurship is a test of your life seeking expression in an idea.
You are the one being tested and not your idea. An idea is nothing all by itself. An idea becomes something only in the hand of a true entrepreneur and a true entrepreneur is the individual with a credible track record. Your greatest nightmare as an entrepreneur is having to sell your big idea to the world. Every idea must face criticism and this is the ultimate test of being an entrepreneur. Your ability to fight for your idea will be determined by the strength of your character first as an individual. Whether or not your idea will be accepted is a function of your past. What about your past gives us a clue that you can pull this idea through? People buy into you the entrepreneur first before they buy into the idea. So if your life doesn’t suggest to those you are trying to solicit their involvement in making your idea a reality that you are capable, then your great idea is as good as nothing. How well have you led your life? As I have always emphasized, business is not separate from your life as an entrepreneur, rather, business is an extension of your life. Your business as an entrepreneur is a reflection of your person. Show me an individual and I can almost predict how and what his business will look like. True entrepreneurs first lead a great life, little wonder they build great businesses. The composition of your life as an entrepreneur is what will determine the success or failure of your entrepreneurial journey.

Entrepreneurship is about surmounting varying degrees of difficulties in order to make something worthwhile happen. It requires more than just having a great idea; it requires a strong character developed as a result of accumulated life experiences. These life experiences serves as a foundation on which to build the much-needed credibility through which your idea is brought to life.

People always want to know if you have what it takes to pull an idea through from conception to execution. The task of having to convince them that you have what it takes is the greatest nightmare of being an entrepreneur. Some of the people whose involvement you need to get your idea off the ground include; investors, partners, workers, customers, suppliers etc. without these people being on board, your idea at its very best is still your idea.

Meaning it hasn’t become a shared idea. Why? Because it takes more than one person (entrepreneur) to build a business, you ultimately need the involvement of others.

Selling Your Idea: Why on Earth Should Anyone Buy into Your Idea?
Providing answer to this question is where your greatest nightmare as an entrepreneur begins. Your idea is great; it has the potential to change the world, but how come no one except you is willing to stick their neck out for it? How come all people ever do when you pitch your idea is listen, nod their heads and do nothing else, this is because you are not convincing. Let me be very quick to draw a line here; there is big difference between sounding convincing and actually being convincing.
Sounding convincing is a matter of presentation, being convincing is a matter of credibility. In other words, trust. Your credibility is what determines your ability to convince others and without that credibility, selling your idea to others might remain impossible.

So How Do You Develop Credibility?
Credibility in its most basic meaning is the ability to inspire trust or belief. In other words, credibility refers to the ability of the entrepreneur to inspire or earn the trust and willingness of others to accept what he or she proposes as true.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.

Tito Philips Jnr. is a young Nigerian that is M.A.D – Making A Difference