1. Biz Skills 4 Startups (& Techs)
(21st century products, people, communication and results)
Presented by Peter Jones
(from Blue Oyster Business Growth)
To access toolkit elements, and NOT to exchange newsletters or spam (we promise)
connect on Google+ and Facebook with Peter: pj.blueoyster@gmail.com
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2. Perception – “UK” vs “US”
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 Great engineering  Great commercial
skills – Brunel, skills – Gates,
Stevenson Carnegie
 Occasional tech  Social media giants –
successes – ARM Facebook, Twitter
 Great soft skills  Very sales oriented
 More team oriented  Fierce competition
 Well educated, top to  World class at the top,
near bottom not so good at the
bottom
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3. Business Growth Components
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 Market Research, Lean Startup, Creativity,
Product Services Product Design, Customer Focus, Innovation,
Channel Testing, MVP, Web Presence, USP
Marketing & Sales  Brand, Reputation, Networking, Targetting,
Social Media, Soft Selling, Sales Collateral ,
Sales Teams, Global Trade, Events, Presenting
Team Services  Management, Leadership, Virtual Teams,
Virtual Assistants, Communication, Motivation,
Empowerment, Ethics, Trust
Capital Services
 Investment Funding, Operational & Cloud
Systems, Knowledge & Connection Capital,
Sustainability, Transparency
Success Values
 The values you study and aspire to will come
across in all your communications

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4. Some Early Conclusions
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 All round skills needed  Lots to learn, a slow
process
 We all do better in  Let’s contribute where
some areas, worse in we are strongest, look
others for help where we
need it
 To speed up, we need  Trusted team
outside assistance members, co-founders
 Four types of people:  It takes time to find
inventors; chatterers; your team
team builders; bottom
liners
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5. Building Great Product
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 Address a specific need. Provide a service.
Product Concept Use your existing passions. Don’t just listen to
friends, neither just your critics.
 The most important activity. Save yourself
Market Research years and thousands. Do this properly !!
 You need a working model that generates real
Minimum Viable Product revenue. But a minimalist one taking the least
time and money to produce. Speed is vital.
Sales Channels  The cost of selling can have a material impact
on your pricing, which can dent demand.
Conduct lightning, low cost trials.
Success Values  Prepare to innovate, pivot & discard often.
Even the greats like Twitter started off as very
different concepts. Value creativity. Prepare for
the long-haul !!!

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6. Product Exercise
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 Trial your product idea  Explain your concept
in a single short
sentence
 Look for feedback  Ask “who do you think
might buy this?”
 Listen to answers  Note who your
audience might be
 Move on to the next  Repeat the process
person
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7. Connecting With Audiences
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 As you are providing a service, focus on
Finding The Words customer benefits, not product features. Ask
questions, listen more, talk less.
 Very easy now to use Google+ and build a
Build a Sales Catalogue publicly visible sales catalogue showing client
benefits
 Perhaps the hardest activity. Use trial offers to
Finding Audiences
test marketing partners, constantly check
results. Will partners share your success?
Testing Messages  Live feedback is priceless. Take yourself out of
the equation and ask simply about the
message.
Success Values  Be determined, and be focused. You must
guide the success of your business !!! Be a
conduit, not necessarily a star. Connect, build
relationships, don’t be desperate to sell.

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8. Message Exercise
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 Look for your message  Explain your concept in a
single short sentence
 Look for feedback  Ask “What would buyers
want from this?”
 Listen hard to answers  Note the benefits your
partner lists
 Move on to the next  Repeat the process
person
 What did you learn?  Different to your pre-
conceptions?
 How valuable is live  The most valuable thing
audience feedback? you have in your business!
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9. Learning Communication & Sales
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 Be personable, build trust, meet  The relationship must outlast the
up 1-2-1 product. Don’t make failure your
fault. Be “on their side”.
 Keep messages simple  Beware of the “Fogg Factor”
 Always ask in third person,  Less like selling, more like
second person is too direct asking for opinions
 Prepare questions, be  PPPPPPP – Extract maximum
disciplined, make sure you value from every dialogue
collect vital results & feedback
 Note messages with most and  Understand what switches
least impact different listeners on and off
 Update sales collateral  Capture great sales impact for
constantly online consumption
 Ask constantly: “Where can I  Vital both to sales and to a
find my audiences?” sustainable business
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10. Building a “Growth Team”
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 People need consistency, and to know where
Provide Direction they fit in. Providing direction and sticking to it
is key for any team wanting joint progress.
 Ask team members for their opinion. Listen
Consult hard, take action accordingly. Build social
networks of people you respect.
 Stuff happens, especially in virtual teams. If
Collaborate the stuff has hit the fan, on or off project, can
you be “on their side”? Really builds loyalty!
Reward
Success Values
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11. Team Exercise
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 Possible team member?  Ask them to explain their customer
service ethos
 What values do they portray?  Do these values match yours?
 Will they share rewards?  Will your work be rewarded?
 Can they explore new ideas?  Can they include you in their team?
 Are they “business first”, or  Or just “money first”? What is their
“customer first”? primary focus? Themselves?
 Do they admit mistakes?  And how do they recompense?
 Do they ask for a structured brief,  Are they a “professional” supplier?
and for clarification?
 Are they most interested in product,  Will they complement people
chat, people or bottom line? already in your team?
 Which type are you?  What do other delegates think?
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12. Capitalising on Growth
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 Ensure you can pay bills. Work outside normal
Underpin Cashflow hours if you can. Collect what is due. Discount
where a full service is not provided.
 Ensure people in your team have solid values,
Build Trusted Connections and that your recommendations and joint
projects have positive outcomes.
 Find and put to use cloud systems wherever
Deploy Cloud Systems possible. Spend time and money on your
business, not a gaggle of computer softwares.
Build Reputation
Success Values
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13. Building Capital Exercise
A Blue Oyster Business Growth programme managed by Peter Jones
 Possible team member?  Will they help you ? Can you
help them back ?
 Do they share rewards?  Is your work rewarded?
 Can you exchange resources?  Providing each other with
resources, tools, communities
and market places that help
 Can you exchange product  Helping each other understand
feedback and market research? market response and trends
 Can you explore reputation, and  Aiming to advance each other’s
look at ways to build it for each reputation with their chosen
other? product and market
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14. Working With Success Values
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 Values are aspirational,  We work towards these
and we can infuse them values, not always
into every day business reaching them
 A compelling message for  But we have to live the
audiences message, not just talk it
 A clear sign about those  Not a stick to beat us, but
we’d like to work with a set of common goals
 Implementing values is  It’s worth doing, so we
something we can should accept the hard
measure in terms of our work involved and do it
success
For self-learning, mentoring, training or consultancy, get in touch
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15. Business Skills - Recap
A Blue Oyster Business Growth service managed by Peter Jones
 Building great product  Great product “sells itself”;
ask for audience reaction
 Modern day global  Different messages for
marketing & sales different audiences and
channels
 Building a support team  Delegating and managing
tasks & functions; finding
trusted partners & agents;
leadership
 Building your business  Managing finances,
capital and reputation operational systems,
contacts, niche knowledge,
capital, cash flow, trust
For self-learning, mentoring, training or consultancy, get in touch
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16. Peter M C Jones
A Blue Oyster Business Growth consultant
Enterprise Investment Sales & Social Media Automator
Lean Startup, Entrepreneur DNA, Cash Flow Personable, Listener, Contributor, Need
Focused Sensitive, Relationship Builder, Solution
Investment Solutions: Financial Capital, Broker, New Media Advocate &
Knowledge Capital, Connection Capital, Harnesser, Brand & Reputation, Affiliate
Team Capital, Networking. Corporate Solutions,Pitch Analysis
Operations, Cloud & Systems Solutions
Business Architect / Engineer Community Transformer
Creative, Innovative, Experienced, Social, Caring, Service Oriented,
Positive, Change Agent, Growth Collaborator, Team Manager, Trainer,
Focused, Formally Trained Motivator, Leadership Values
Twitter: @innov8tor3 | LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/petermcjones
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