Three Common Decision-Traps

Making decisions is your most critical job as a leader. The more high-stakes a decision is, the more likely you are to get stuck. Here's how to avoid three of the most common traps:

• Anchoring. Many people give disproportionate weight to the first information they receive. Be sure to pursue other lines of thinking, even if the first one seems right.
• Status quo. Change can be unsettling and it's easy to favor alternatives that keep things the same. Ask yourself if the status quo truly serves your objectives and downplay the urge to stay in your current state.
• Confirming evidence. If you find that new information continually validates your existing point of view, ask a respected colleague to argue against your perspective. Also try to avoid working with people who always agree with you.

Startup Mentor is a place for all the Startups to find their virtual mentors. The forum is dedicated to giving ideas to the aspiring entrepreneurs and the first generation entrepreneurs. If you fee that you can contribute to the community of entrepreneurs by providing your articles, opinions, analysis and case studies, please send an email to startupmentor@gmail.com

Raising Money From Informal Investors

No matter who you're raising capital from and no matter whether you're raising money in the form of debt or equity funding, you'll be faced with the prospect of financing agreements that are written to favor the investor over the entrepreneur. Over the years, the agreements used by more informal investors have come to mirror the investor-friendly agreements used by venture capital firms. So it's critical, especially during the startup stage when your negotiating leverage with investors is often weak, to know the difference between what is tolerable and what is intolerable when it comes to structuring a financing deal.

Your guiding principle should be this: Look into your crystal ball and choose your first investor carefully. Don't agree to terms that will limit or restrict your ability down the road to grow your company or attract additional investors. When raising money from angel investors or relatives and friends, the terms negotiated by your first investor in a financing round tend to be the terms that last for the entire round. Similarly, the terms you agree to in your first round set the stage for later rounds. And giving away too much could come back to hurt you or your business.

So here are a few tips about what to look out for to get a deal that works for you:

Don't give pro-rata rights to your first investors. If your first investor (or his or her attorney) negotiates pro-rata rights (which means the investor is given the right to maintain ownership in the company through future investment rounds), all the investors in the round are likely to also want those rights.even if most wouldn't have otherwise requested them. Although anti-dilution provisions are in the interest of early investors, they're off-putting to later investors. So you'll need to balance the needs of your early investors to protect their stake in the company with how attractive your company will appear to later institutional investors.

Avoid giving too many people the right to be overly involved. The follow-the-leader mentality described above gets particularly problematic when you give up control of the business and require investor consent for business decisions. If you're not careful, you may find yourself in the tedious and time-consuming position of needing signatures from all or most of your shareholders to make future financing decisions or management choices--all because you gave these rights to your first investor. Similarly, some investors will want detailed reports on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. Agree to this only when it seems necessary. Spending a lot of time preparing and mailing reports, and requesting and collecting signatures, is probably not the best use of your time.

Beware of any limits placed on management compensation. In the past few years, angel investor groups have started to "over reach" by adding clauses to financing agreements that limit the salaries of senior management. While this type of restriction might make sense for businesses running out of money or ones in which the board of directors is too cozy with senior management, entrepreneurs should be wary about agreeing to such limits. Arbitrary limits on how much you can pay your top employees means you'll be limiting your ability to attract the best people at the time you need them most. What you might do instead is to agree to set up a compensation committee for your new business and review salaries as part of a total budget.

Request a cure period. To protect themselves, investors may want you agree to covenants and representations about your company that might be difficult for an under-funded startup to swallow. These can include representations about every legal agreement your business has ever entered into, and guarantees that your business is compliant with all laws, licenses and regulations in every state. Most agreements will indicate that you are in default of the agreement if you violate any of its provisions.

Agreeing to such sweeping provisions is often difficult for honest entrepreneurs. One way to deal with this is to ensure that you have a "cure period" in your financing agreements. You should negotiate a cure period of two to four weeks to allow yourself time to remedy your errors. This cushion will give you the time you need to find a solution or a "white knight" investor if you're ever vulnerable.

Restrict your share restrictions. Historically, friends, family and angel investors wouldn't request adding restrictions on the sale of shares owned by the founders or management team. These restrictions were typically added during venture capital rounds of financing in which retaining the founders and management team are critical to making the deal work.

However, I've noticed that angel investor groups have started to insist on these restrictions even during early rounds. While it's unlikely that founders' shares have much street value during the early rounds and it's unlikely that anyone will want to buy them, it's still not a good idea to agree to such restrictions. If you know that you plan to raise additional capital, having unrestricted shares is often one of your only bargaining chips with future investors.

When raising money from any type of investor, it's a good idea to speak to your attorney about whether he or she is seeing an investor-friendly or entrepreneur-friendly capital market. If it's not friendly, then be patient--recent experience shows that the tide will always turn.

Startup Mentor is a place for all the Startups to find their virtual mentors. The forum is dedicated to giving ideas to the aspiring entrepreneurs and the first generation entrepreneurs. If you fee that you can contribute to the community of entrepreneurs by providing your articles, opinions, analysis and case studies, please send an email to startupmentor@gmail.com

12 Commandments for Closing a Sale

Like any game there are rules to selling, especially when it comes to closing a sale. To ensure sales success in your business, whether you're a startup or an established entrepreneur, here are a dozen of my best commandments for sealing the deal.

1. Remain seated. The saying goes, present the product, service or idea on your feet, but always negotiate from your seat. Even if your prospect stands up, remain seated. Going from a seating position to standing up suggests something has changed and allows your prospect to exit and end the negotiations.

2. Always present a proposal in writing. People do not believe what they hear, they believe what they see. Always have a contract available and a writing pad. Anything offered or points of value that are included should be written down to show buyers what they get when they make a decision with you.

3. Communicate clearly. No one will trust a person who cannot communicate clearly and confidently. I practiced using recorders and video for years and then played them back to ensure my communication was coming across the way I intended.

4. Make eye contact. This is a discipline instilled only through practice, and you can perfect it by recording yourself. If you want to be believed, it is vital to make eye contact with your prospect. It suggests interest in them and confidence in yourself, your products, your services, and in what you are proposing.

5. Always carry a pen. I remember once I was closing a deal, and I reached for my pen in my jacket but it was gone. The prospect took this as sign that he shouldn't sign—and didn't. I was devastated, and now I refuse to go anywhere without my sword in hand. All agreements require signatures and that requires ink. Keep a pen available at all times. In fact, always have a back-up pen, too.

6. Use humor. Any humor that can make people feel good, inspired or hopeful is always appropriate during the close. Everyone loves a good story, and people are more likely to make decisions when they are less serious. You will close more deals if you can get your client to lighten up and laugh.

7. Ask one more time. Figuring out another way to circle back and reposition negotiations after being told "no" ultimately will make you a great closer. It is not rude to persist; it is the sign of success and prosperity. Because I continue to ask in another way for a "yes" after being told "no" does not mean I did not listen. It only means I am more sold on my view than I am the other's view.

8. Stay with the buyer. Each time you leave the customer to check on something, it creates doubt and uncertainty in their mind. It can create undue antagonism in the negotiations, lower perceived value, and extend the closing time. But keep in mind, this does not mean there is not an appropriate time to leave a buyer and use an authority for a close, as this can be very powerful as long as it is not overused

9. Always treat prospects like buyers. Regardless of the circumstances: no money, no budget, not the decision maker -- always treat the buyer like he is a buyer. I always survey the prospect for signs that demonstrate they have bought in the past. The watch, the shirt, the suit, the necklace, the car they drove, the house they live in, the credit card they use, and others. All are evidence that this prospect has actually demonstrated the ability and history of closing. I always tell myself, "Every buyer is a buyer. Treat them as a buyer and they will turn into a buyer."

10. Stay confident. I always maintain that we can come to an agreement, no matter what I am told by the buyer or those around me. The saying goes: "Where there is a will, there is a way." This mindset of knowing you will reach an agreement requires you to eliminate all negativity from your environment as though it were a disease that kills, and be assured, it does.

11. Be positive. No matter how the buyer responds, keep it light and maintain a can-do attitude throughout the negotiations. When you go negative due to the buyer being negative there is only one outcome and it's not good. Negativity always succumbs to positivity.

12. Always smile. This is not just about your attitude, but also your physical manifestation. For the next week, practice smiling with everyone in every situation you encounter. Do this until you are able to argue with a smile, disagree with a smile, negotiate, overcome objections and close with a smile. Have you ever noticed that very successful people are smiling all the time? It is not because they are successful that they are smiling, it's how they got successful. This is a million dollar tip: Smile.

Facebook and Likes

Some dismiss the Facebook Like buttons as feedback for lazy people. They argue commenting should be sufficient and more human to express the liking of a status message.

As you probably guessed by now, I respectfully disagree. Pressing the "Like" button is more than what it looks like on the surface. Allow me to explain why I think so.

One of the most important things in human relationships is shared values. If two people from totally different cultures meet initially they are weary of each other. They don't know what to expect from each other, they don't know what each others intentions and objectives are. But as soon as they find a common interest, a common value they will start forming a relationship, later an alliance, even friendship. Occasionally when values overlap significantly and objectives can be aligned suddenly a magical thing love happens too.

When you virtually "Like" someone's picture of his kitten or his status message about a book he read you are saying a lot about yourself. It says you appreciate this person sharing his life, you care for animals, you have maternal (paternal) feelings for small creatures, you appreciate knowledge and the list goes on. All this information is expressed with two "Like" clicks and its transmitted not only to your friend but to all who see the post and your reaction, which can be hundreds of people.

Over time your Likes will generate a large amount of information about you and your personal values and this is immensely important for your friends. They can without thinking deduct what areas of life they can rely on you. In the oversimplified Venn Diagram below all three people can easily be friends because they have many shared values that are expressed through brands, people, music, etc. Jane and Jack can even become romantically involved because many core values are matching such as politics (philosophy), love for aesthetics, love for technology, etc. Jack and John can be buddies based on their expressed likes for shared things like Adobe and ETs.

Finding shared values is an extremely strong and positive feeling. It assures the person of his own beliefs being right and suggests that he can rely on you when fighting for his values in the world. Simple Likes can eventually lead to comments, private emails and even personal meetings.

The more shared values people find in each other, the more likely they will overlook their unavoidable differences. And that creates harmony, cooperation and prosperity in a society.

I know it feels like I'm taking this too far. How can a small Liking make such a global change? But think about it — Facebook serves about a billion Likes a day. A billion of anything even insignificant is a lot. So, next time you Like something on Facebook, remember: You're sharing your values and you're making the world a slightly better place.

Affluent Gen-Y Hooked on Social Media, Brands

Digital media is trouncing traditional channels among up-and-coming Millennials: 81% of affluent Gen-Y adults use Facebook every day—roughly double the number who read newspaper content (45%) or watch TV (44%) daily, according to a new study by L2. Moreover, 45% of such consumers read at least one blog every day.

Gen-Y affluents are 27 years old on average, and they are on a path to earn over $100,000 annually in the short term, and double that income within the next five years, according to the study.

Facebook is fundamental among Gen-Y affluents:

• Over one-half say their attitudes about brands are shaped by Facebook.
• 54% have "liked" a brand on Facebook in the previous month.
• 38% have posted a comment in the previous month.
• 30% have "shared" brands with their networks in the previous month.

Below, other findings from the L2 study titled Gen Y Affluents, based on a survey of 535 young adults.

Gen-Y affluents are both brand aware and eager to interact: Three-quarters have some affinity for brands, either "following a few good brands" (43%) or getting the "occasional brand crush" (32%); another 12% are self-proclaimed brand "devotees."

Connecting With Brands via Social Media

Women are more likely than men to engage with brands via social media: 80% of female Gen-Y affluents do so, compared with 63% of male Gen-Y affluents. Women are also more likely than men to connect with brands for special offers (38% vs. 28%) and cite brand content as a reason for engaging (15% vs. 10%).

The Blog Generation

Blogs are as popular as newspapers among Gen-Y affluents. Overall, blogs associated with traditional media organizations such as The New York Times and ESPN equally as popular as those focused on a niche interests:

• Female Gen-Y favorites include Perez Hilton, Gawker, The Huffington Post, The Sartorialist, Daily Intel, and the Cut.
  
• Male Gen-Y favorites include TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Huffington Post, and Gawker.

Microblogging is even more is also pervasive: Two-thirds of Gen-Y affluents use Twitter, with one in four checking their account in the previous 24 hours.

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Newspaper and Magazine Content

Some 66% of Gen-Y affluents consume newspaper content online via desktop or laptop computer. Only 19% still read a traditional print newspaper and 12% access news content via their smartphone/iPod.

When reading magazines, however, 71% of Gen-Y affluents read print, and 24% read digital magazine content via desktop or laptop computer. Fewer Gen-Y affluents access magazine content via smartphone/iPod (2%) or e-reader/iPad (2%).

Daily online video viewing is commonplace among Gen-Y affluents:

• 56% say they viewed a video via YouTube in the previous 24 hours.
• 19% viewed a video via Hulu.
• 21% watched video online—other than on YouTube or Hulu.
• 13% used a mobile device to watch a video.

In addition, 42% of Gen-Y affluents watch TV shows online and 27% watch movies online.

Other key mobile-related findings:

• 25% of Gen-Y affluents use their mobile phone to access social media sites.
• Roughly one-third of Gen-Y affluents own a BlackBerry and slightly more own an iPhone; 71% expect to own aniPhone in the future.
• Favorite mobile apps: The top 5 apps among female Gen-Y affluents are Facebook, Maps, Pandora, The Weather Channel, and The New York Times. The top 5 apps among men are Facebook, Maps, Pandora, Angry Birds, and Twitter.
• Apple is the top Prestige Brand among both male and female Gen-Y affluents.

About the data: Findings are based on a October 2010 survey of nearly 1,000 high-achieving and high-earning Gen-Y adults, refined to a panel of 535, age 27 on average. Overall, the sample set is on a trajectory to earn more than $100,000 in the short-term and double that income within the next five years; 75% expect to earn more than $80,000 in the next 24 months.