James Lanyon's guest appearances

James Lanyon

Creatives Meet Business

Ashley Thompson

Kara Perez

Billy Moyer

McGarrah Jessee

Claire Siegel

Jen Spencer

Ryan Johnston

Jon Lebkowsky

Rachel Clemens

Alexis Davis

Kyle Ali

Sarah Marloff

James Renovitch

Carina Magyar

Neelan Choksi

OwlTail

Hi there folks! Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for artists and creatives to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship. This episode features James Lanyon, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at T3, who joined us in June during our roundtable event on Branding. As you'll soon find out, he is a fount of knowledge on all things sales AND designing products for your audience. Because there's so much magic in this episode - let's hop in and hear what James has to say!  0:00 to 3:46 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of James Lanyon 3:51 to 6:53 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Designing for Sales)  Despite all the case studies and business books you read, the truth in product and service creation that generates more demand is really more fundamental and gets down to two key realities. Personal story about graduate program Background in sales over 18 years  Opportunity to control your own destiny from sales     6:54 to 7:48 - Where You Need to Focus  Pitch Product - does the product speak for itself and have value  Tendency is to err more toward one than the other Spend too much time noodling what you'll put out there     7:49 to 8:53 - CustomerCentric Selling  CustomerCentric Selling Sales isn't a sin Most really great salespeople are more like therapists and consultants  Innate ability to get people to lower their guard and talk about real issues       8:54 to 9:32 - Three (3) Need States Someone Will Transact With You For  Ultimately a person or company is going to give you money for one of three reasons:  I need to achieve a goal, get from Point A to Point B Solve a problem, got stuck somewhere along the way Satisfy a need, I have a feeling Point B is out there, but I don't know how to get there     9:33 to 12:37 - Don't Stop at the Sale, Create the Product  Sales and product creation are co-conspirators Create a feedback loop with the honest conversations you have with clients and customers to create opportunities for business You wear all of the hats as a business owner, but the two that should be worn at the same time are sales person and product creator Don't just use it to hone your pitch, use it to hone and create your product   12:38 to 14:07 - Pain Scale  Pain scale like you'd see at the doctor's office with a series of faces from 1 to 10 to showcase pain Solution in search of a problem - when something is created that isn't a pain point for people Most issues on the far right side of the scale (where they're hurting) aren't being addressed and that's what people need and will pay for   14:08 to 15:00 - Test and Learn Processes  Instead of responding immediately to a good idea and shifting your business model and overhauling your website, send a test email to say 25 of the 500 people in your database with the new idea you have.  Keep repeating until you get 25 "no, I have no interest in this" and then check it off and move on.     15:01 to 17:16 - Lean Business Model Canvas  Most start-ups are forced to do the exercise (if they get any funding) Several options for the Lean Business Model Canvas: Link to Lean Business Model Canvas on Canvanizer , Link to LEANSTACK site, or do a google image search Important for any business owner or entrepreneur to complete, not just start-ups seeking funding The problem doesn't have to be profound, but it has to be problematic in some sense for it to be a solution  You can write it over and over again, that's how businesses change over time One of the greatest assets you can have is to create a metaphor: I'm the this of that   17:20 to 19:07 - Ashland Closing Remarks  Stay in touch, email us (ashland@cmbatx.com) or connect with us on social (@createmeetbiz on Instagram and Twitter // Creatives Meet Business on Facebook) Big thanks to Jamal Knox (audio engineer) and Chris James (composer)!    If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, and rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to the newsletter. Get ready for one more on Branding then we move to Fundraising, stay tuned! Thanks! Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Hi there folks! <a href="http://www.cmbatx.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Creatives Meet Business</a> is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for artists and creatives to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship. This episode features <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslanyon/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">James Lanyon</a>, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at <a href="https://www.t-3.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">T3</a>, who joined us in June during our roundtable event on Branding. As you'll soon find out, he is a fount of knowledge on all things sales AND designing products for your audience. Because there's so much magic in this episode - let's hop in and hear what James has to say! <ul> <li>0:00 to 3:46 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameslanyon/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">James Lanyon</a></li> <li>3:51 to 6:53 - Introduction of Self and Topic (Designing for Sales) <ul> <li>Despite all the case studies and business books you read, the truth in product and service creation that generates more demand is really more fundamental and gets down to two key realities.</li> <li>Personal story about graduate program</li> <li>Background in sales over 18 years <ul> <li>Opportunity to control your own destiny from sales</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>6:54 to 7:48 - Where You Need to Focus <ol> <li>Pitch</li> <li>Product - does the product speak for itself and have value <ul> <li>Tendency is to err more toward one than the other</li> <li>Spend too much time noodling what you'll put out there</li> </ul> </li> </ol> </li> <li>7:49 to 8:53 - CustomerCentric Selling <ul> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/CustomerCentric-Selling-Second-Michael-Bosworth/dp/0071637087/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0071637087&amp;pd_rd_r=E12ZB4Y3B4NW3A79KPDV&amp;pd_rd_w=vPwwF&amp;pd_rd_wg=PAg4n&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=E12ZB4Y3B4NW3A79KPDV" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">CustomerCentric Selling</a><ul> <li>Sales isn't a sin</li> <li>Most really great salespeople are more like therapists and consultants <ul> <li>Innate ability to get people to lower their guard and talk about real issues</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>8:54 to 9:32 - Three (3) Need States Someone Will Transact With You For <ul> <li>Ultimately a person or company is going to give you money for one of three reasons: <ol> <li>I need to achieve a goal, get from Point A to Point B</li> <li>Solve a problem, got stuck somewhere along the way</li> <li>Satisfy a need, I have a feeling Point B is out there, but I don't know how to get there</li> </ol> </li> </ul> </li> <li>9:33 to 12:37 - Don't Stop at the Sale, Create the Product <ul> <li>Sales and product creation are co-conspirators</li> <li>Create a feedback loop with the honest conversations you have with clients and customers to create opportunities for business</li> <li>You wear all of the hats as a business owner, but the two that should be worn at the same time are sales person and product creator</li> <li>Don't just use it to hone your pitch, use it to hone and create your product</li> </ul> </li> <li>12:38 to 14:07 - Pain Scale <ul> <li>Pain scale like you'd see at the doctor's office with a series of faces from 1 to 10 to showcase pain</li> <li>Solution in search of a problem - when something is created that isn't a pain point for people</li> <li>Most issues on the far right side of the scale (where they're hurting) aren't being addressed and that's what people need and will pay for</li> </ul> </li> <li>14:08 to 15:00 - Test and Learn Processes <ul> <li>Instead of responding immediately to a good idea and shifting your business model and overhauling your website, send a test email to say 25 of the 500 people in your database with the new idea you have. <ul> <li>Keep repeating until you get 25 "no, I have no interest in this" and then check it off and move on.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>15:01 to 17:16 - Lean Business Model Canvas <ul> <li>Most start-ups are forced to do the exercise (if they get any funding)</li> <li>Several options for the Lean Business Model Canvas: <a href="https://canvanizer.com/new/lean-canvas" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Link to Lean Business Model Canvas on Canvanizer </a>, <a href="https://leanstack.com/is-one-page-business-model" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Link to LEANSTACK site</a>, or do a google image search</li> <li>Important for any business owner or entrepreneur to complete, not just start-ups seeking funding</li> <li>The problem doesn't have to be profound, but it has to be problematic in some sense for it to be a solution </li> <li>You can write it over and over again, that's how businesses change over time</li> <li>One of the greatest assets you can have is to create a metaphor: I'm the this of that</li> </ul> </li> <li>17:20 to 19:07 - Ashland Closing Remarks <ul> <li>Stay in touch, email us (<a href="mailto:ashland@cmbatx.com">ashland@cmbatx.com</a>) or connect with us on social (@createmeetbiz on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/createmeetbiz/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/CreateMeetBiz" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> // Creatives Meet Business on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CreativesMeetBusiness/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>)</li> <li>Big thanks to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamalaknox/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Jamal Knox</a> (audio engineer) and <a href="https://www.chrisjamesaudio.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Chris James</a> (composer)!</li> </ul> </li> </ul> If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, and rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/createmeetbiz/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/CreateMeetBiz" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CreativesMeetBusiness/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or subscribe to the <a href="http://www.cmbatx.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">newsletter</a>. Get ready for one more on Branding then we move to Fundraising, stay tuned! Thanks! Ashland, Creatives Meet Business

Ep. 31 - Designing for Sales with James Lanyon