Lets face it; we no longer have the attention span we did 5 years ago. Twitter has shortened our attention span to 140 characters, TiVo has taken away our ability to sit through a commercial and all these blackberries, Iphones and Ipad like devices have destroyed our ability to do one thing at a time. Think back to the last networking event you were and think about how many times you were looking for the next person to talk to while someone was pitching you and idea or what else you were doing while you were getting an idea pitched over the phone.

Your first statement to someone can be summed up as your emotional pitch. You need to appeal to the person on some emotional level to get them to want more. Part of it is how you present yourself and look but nothing is as important as those first words out of your mouth.

Here are a few tips that can help you get someone’s attention so that they will want to hear your elevator pitch:

Don’t pitch your idea right away – Everyone always says prepare your pitch in a 30 second pitch in case you see someone while you are running between rooms or in an elevator (hence the term elevator pitch), but you will not sell your idea in 30 seconds. Get the person to want to listen to you. Start with something that will make them remember you so you can follow up after. Maybe you like the same sports team or have common friends. If an elevator pitch fails, you have lost your only shot. If you hit them with something that appeals to them on an emotional level, you have opened the door for future and longer conversations.

Go bold or go bust – Imagine seeing Sir Richard Branson in Starbucks sitting by himself drinking a coffee. You think to yourself that this is the opportunity of a lifetime to pitch him your new idea. You need to quickly grab his attention. Something like “Mr. Branson, do you have a minute to hear my idea?” just won’t cut it. You need to make an impact and make him want to listen to you. You need to be bold and tell him you mean business. Telling him “I am going to turn your coffee into a million dollars!” is something that will make him say “Sit down.” You only have one chance to pitch your idea so you need to be bold and tell that person that you are confident that what you have to tell them will be the next great idea. That opens the door for whatever pitch you need to make.

Lead with a question - Get the person asking why or how. Asking a person “How are you?” or “Are you having a good time?” are great conversation starters, but a pitch is not a conversation; it’s a sale. You need to make them want to hear more. Evaluate what you are selling and lead with the appropriate question such as “Have you ever wanted to…?” or “Do you remember when…?” Once they respond, you have started to engage them and now have got them interested in more information. If they answer it with a closed answer to cut off the conversation, they had no interest in the idea anyhow.

Use well-known names/terms – Leverage the big names you know and work with. Use them early in the conversation. There is a significant difference between the following to sentences; “I run a music company that composes original music for television, film and commercials and we did the theme for Good Morning America” and “I wrote the theme for Good Morning America through my company which composes original music for television, film and commercials..” The placement of the big name will keep them interested and excited and want to understand what you do. If you use the name at the end of the sentence, you are just another music company and the big names value disappears.

Without a strong emotional pitch, your elevator pitch will most likely fall flat. You can practice and hire a coach to perfect it but you need to grab the proper attention first. Knowing how to deliver a strong emotional pitch will make you more confident and will help you get your message across to whomever your audience is.

Surround yourself with an experienced team – Looking back at the process of Lebron’s free agency, the one thing that came out of it was how his team miscalculated many things, specifically the image that was portrayed during the ESPN interview. When starting a business or entering into partnerships or new lines of business, you need to talk to people that have experience and have been there before. These people can help guide you and help you figure out the best way to approach things. Many entrepreneurs partner with friends or other entrepreneurs to get themselves started, especially since it is very hard to hire people with no money. But create a board of advisors or a network of people with experience that can help you.

Don’t burn bridges – When you leave a job, turn down a partnership or decline to work with an angel or venture capital firm, it is essential that you do it with class and respect. These people have helped you along the way and you never know whom you will need help from later on. Lebron managed to turn an entire city from friend into hated enemies in a matter of seconds as a result of the manor in which he chose his new team. While he may have upset them by leaving, even without the spectacle, doing it respectfully and in a manner similar how he was treated by the fans for seven years, he may be able to return home. And as an entrepreneur, you may not want partners now, but you may need a partners help down the road. You may not want and investor’s money in the first round of financing, but there may be a second, third or an exit that you need those people along the way. Keep those relationships strong and never burn those bridges.

Never forget those who helped you along the way – Apparently, in order to protect the secrecy of his decision, Lebron didn’t let anyone know what he chose until the last few minutes before he announced it. At that point, he had one of his associates call his old boss, Dan Gilbert of the Cavaliers, to tell him Lebron is leaving. And as we all know, Lebron rejected his hometown and previous employer in one of the biggest television events of the year. Entrepreneurs start out as people with ideas and dreams, just like a basketball player. While your company may become a success, many people help you get there by providing you guidance, flexibility and mentoring along the way. It is essential that when you become a success and

Money isn’t everything – And no, it’s not the only thing. Money is great, especially when going through an exit for your company. But as we saw from Lebron, sometimes, taking a little less to be in a better situation is the best exit strategy. When you are selling your company or bringing in investors, you need to consider what your goal is; to make as much money as possible or see your company grow into something bigger and better with lasting success.

Dress for success – When people come to you for a meeting or especially when you go to them, keep in mind that how you dress tells a lot about you. Asking executives from 6 teams to come to you for a meeting and presentation and then showing up in shorts and a t-shirt gives off a very negative impression. It portrays you as childish and a lack of professionalism. You ultimately want to be the face of your brand and grow it into an empire, so dress that way. Imagine that any second some big deal could close and you can be on television or in the paper. What impression do you want to give off? People perceive you but the first impression and what you wear makes a huge difference.

While outsiders may not like our decision or you have to leave friends behind, doing so with dignity and class will help leave a favorable impression. As an entrepreneur, that impression could help make you a success. Learn from this Lebron fiasco and do things the quietly and effectively. Earn the respect of others because at the end of the day, how people perceive you is really all that matters.

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Are You a Local Expert in Your Industry?

In today’s age of the internet, you are your own brand and how you market and sell that brand will make you a success. You need to take an active role in building that brand so that when you do meet someone you are prepared and give off a great first impression. Some of the ways this can be accomplished are:

• Start a blog about your industry – Portray yourself as knowledgeable and people will listen to you and ask for your advice. This will give you a lot of credibility.
• Learn the industry – Make sure you know the names of the key companies and players in the industry. You don’t want to look dumbfounded when these individuals’ names are mentioned.
• Network – Build up a network of contacts in your field and related fields so that you can leverage their knowledge. Attend industry events and roundtables so that you can be more visible and be an active participant so that people know who you are.
• Learn how to make a great first impression – Make sure you know how to attract someone’s attention when you meet them. People have short attention spans so make sure you know how to get engage them from the first moment. You only have one chance at a first impression!

This is an especially important lesson for entrepreneurs. Very often entrepreneurs are young and have no track record. The only information people have about you is what they can find online. When you are going out to raise capital or to sell your product, people want to know who you are, what you stand for and what kind of person you are. You need to use all the tools available to you to create a certain perception of yourself in the eyes of others. This perception can often be the difference between getting the funding you need or the potential investors having no faith in you. You are the most important thing that you are selling so make sure you are perceived that way.

I came across this article which I thought was a great read for anyone starting their own business - Managing a Small Business While Holding Another Full-time Job. I just wanted to share and welcome comments on this site with ideas and tips on becoming an entrepreneur. Sharing you experiences will help others follow the same path you did!

Below are links to two of my posts – I would love your feedback!

The World of Music – A business unlike any other

Are You a Composer or a Businessman: A decision that can make or break your career

Nowadays, our resume is a living and breathing document that is updated daily. Whether you realize it or not, every accomplishment that you list on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn becomes part of your resume. People see you in real time and judge you by what you have accomplished in the last week or month and not on your whole career. Every time you update your profile on Facebook and Twitter, the site lets all of your connections know about it and even highlights it for people to see the changes. If you get recommended on LinkedIn, everyone will know about it.

When you switch jobs now, what is your first thought – update your profile on social media sites or update your resume on Monster.com and Hotjobs? I personally don’t even remember my login info for those sites as resumes, while required for jobs, are not what will get you in the door of a company. I believe that you will start seeing more and more companies posting their openings on social media sites and you just have to submit your profile page as your resume. Company’s will look at your sites and see what your connections say about you to make a decision. They will look at your pictures and see your comments so make sure you only post what you want public.

So what should you be doing if you are thinking about a new job or looking for a job currently? Here are a few of the things I recommend:

• Keep your LinkedIn profile current – people will search for you to see your work history.
• Ask for recommendations on LinkedIn – ask your former employers and co-workers to recommend you on LinkedIn so potential employers can see these.
• Know what’s out there – do you know what people have written about/to you on Twitter and Facebook? Do you know what pictures you are tagged in? Make sure you monitor these and delete anything that is potentially damaging to you or your career. Most potential employers will not love an employee who is tagged in a picture doing something they would frown upon.
• Keep you hard copy resume on hand – as much as social media sites are replacing it, you will always need your resume. Keep it up to date so it is ready and best reflects you. Every company will want to see this regardless of what they found online.
• Don’t forget Monster and Hotjobs – your resumes on these sites are searchable by potential employers. Don’t get lost in the social media craze and forget that these sites are still where employers look for potential employees more often than not.
• Use social media to your advantage – join Facebook pages and LinkedIn groups for potential employees. This allows you to be found by them if they are looking to hire or will at least alert you when they are looking to hire.

Remember, as long as you are using social media, your resume is being looked at every day by a lot of people. Keep it updated, keep it clean and make sure you keep yourself relevant so you don’t have to waste the time looking for job. Let the employers find you!