When You Need to Sell

The mark of a good entrepreneur is her ability to sell the idea. Can she communicate the idea clearly in all contexts? Can she come up with real benefits and not just features? Can she quickly build a following for the idea?

Some folks just naturally have that right mix of charisma, risk-tolerance and hustle.

I’m not one of those naturals.

But if I ever want any of my ideas to take off, I have to learn. Even though selling an idea goes against every natural inclination, I have to learn.

So I’ll be starting with Dale Carnegie’s landmark book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People”.

There’s also a great list of relevant books by Eric Jorgenson here.

The artist paints in his house all day – making beautiful things. Yet he’s too afraid, too proud, too self-conscious to go out on the corner and ask people to buy his work.

This artist starves. And it isn’t until after he’s dead that his genius is discovered.