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Let Men Their Songs Employ
Posted on Saturday, December 25, 2010 - 09:24 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
I have been thinking about different kinds of teams and team work. What is it about a choir that their voices blend and combine to create an effect that any one singer could never achieve. Each singer is playing a different part in a common synchronized script.
Sean Murphy
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Keeping the Ball Rolling With Prospects
Posted on Monday, December 13, 2010 - 22:55 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
Most of our clients offer complex software products, frequently in combination with some amount of consulting services. Their sales are not the results of credit card transactions but a complex orchestrated sales process.
Sean Murphy
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Narrowcast Early Product Announcements
Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2010 - 02:20 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
My bias is to “narrowcast” in the beginning. Choose websites, forums, newsgroups that are tightly focused on your target market. You attract less competition, your message cost is normally cheaper per prospect, and you often learn faster by taking part in the conversations in a focused community. It’s not so much about being stealthy as sending a message to a tightly focused audience. And, let’s face it, you know the least about how to talk about customer problems/needs in the beginning.
Sean Murphy
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Build On Your Passion With A Basic Model And Numbers
Posted on Monday, November 8, 2010 - 18:01 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
What follows is a chat transcript from an hour long  conversation I had with a  entrepreneur recently. I have cleaned up all of our typos and removed or modified some identifying information. The basic business was for a website to arrange services for travelers. I am sharing it because I think it’s representative of a number of issues that an early stage team has to wrestle with as they translate their passion into plans for product and customer development.
Sean Murphy
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The Limits of Legal Self-Help
Posted on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 09:43 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
Every bootstrapper has a limited budget for attorney’s fees. Attorneys can help you foresee problems and craft contract language, which looks remarkable similar to English but is in fact code that is executed by the legal system.
Sean Murphy
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3 Equations & 3 Unkowns: Target Customer is Key Initial Value
Posted on Monday, September 13, 2010 - 01:09 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
I mentioned in “3 Equations 3 Unknowns:  Customers, Features, and Message” that we spend a lot of time on the early customer stage. It requires very different sales style than you’ll see later on. It’s a conversational sales style. It’s much more about understanding the problem. You’re trying to solve three equations, three unknowns: Are you talking to the right people? Do you have the right features? Do those features translate into benefits that are going to be useful to them? The customer discovery interview process can be tough to master.
Sean Murphy
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Four Movies To Renew Your Gumption
Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 - 22:58 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
Here are four movies that I watch when I need to refill my gumption or recover my sisu. The Verdict Paul Newman’s portrays of an alcoholic plaintiff’s attorney chasing lawsuits by attending wakes and funerals, he re-discovers his moral core and perseveres in a complex medical malpractice lawsuit.
Sean Murphy
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Common Mistakes in New Product Introduction Demos
Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - 09:08 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
A baker’s dozen of common mistakes that I have seen founders make in preparing, delivering, and evaluating a new product presentation/demo. Don’t keep giving the same presentation if it’s not working.
Sean Murphy
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The Business is Everyone’s Business (Part 2)
Posted on Saturday, March 20, 2010 - 03:09 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
Dave Concannon left a long and thoughtful comment on yesterday’s “The Business of Everyone’s Business” Great article Sean. Recently, a developer I work with sent a mail around to the (small) team that blew me away. After a glitch with an internal system he sent a mail which read: “Who’s job is it to fix this?”. When you have someone who can’t take personal responsibility for something that falls directly within their skill set, I’d be wary of their direct involvement in the bigger picture. Certainly, their opinion is as valid as anyone else’s.
Sean Murphy
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The Business is Everyone’s Business
Posted on Friday, March 19, 2010 - 04:00 by Sean Murphy from the site SKMurphy
“A business should be run like an aquarium, where everybody can see what’s going on–what’s going in, what’s moving around, what’s coming out. That’s the only way to make sure people understand what you’re doing, and why, and have some input into deciding where you are going. Then, when the unexpected happens, they know how to react and react quickly.
Sean Murphy
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