Sales skills and very important and can mean many different things depending on what you are selling, says Kaplan. However, an entrepreneur doesn't necessarily need to have these skills, they should be able to attract people with these skills. The important skill for an entrepreneur is to know what you are good at and what you are not good at, he notes.

Transcript



Sales skills can mean a lot of different things in a lot of circumstances. When you need to sell security equipment at airports is very different than when you need to sell Tupperware door to door. Some of them are athletic skills, some of them are social skills. The answer is, of course, it's very important. Do you have to have those skills? Let me come back to one of the points that I failed to make but tried to make. You don't need those skills if you're starting a company. What you need is the ability to attract somebody who does have those skills. And the critical fit skill for you is knowing what you're good at and what you're not good at. You're starting a restaurant, are you going to work in the kitchen? Is your skill cooking and you're going to hire the maitre d'? Or are you the maitre d' and you're going to hire a chef? That's the important thing to look at. Sales, sure, it's very important. It's different in every case. But what you need in starting a company is to recognize what kind of sales skills, who can you get that can do that. And remember, probably, that's not the kind of person you'd particularly want to socialize with, or you don't like. So that's my advice and it's very true.

1. Five Biggest Mistakes That Entrepreneurs Make
2. What are the Best Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs?
3. Five Critical Skills That Entrepreneurs Need
4. Companies Have Personalities
5. Recruiting People to Sell for You
6. Timing is Important: The Same Idea Can Have Different Fates
7. Types of Risks
8. Story of Startup: The Book
9. The Best Time to Start a Company is When Nobody Thinks it's Possible
10. Who Are Your Top Leaders?
11. Personality of a Company: Establishing Culture and Values Early On
12. Envisioning the Future: Microsensor Technology
13. Transitioning from R&D

Jerry Kaplan lectures on Entrepreneurship for Stanford University students, October 1, 2003. Jerry Kaplan is widely known in the computer industry as a serial entrepreneur, executive, technical innovator, and author. Most recently, he was co-chairman of Egghead.com, Inc. Previously, Mr. Kaplan served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of online auction company Onsale, Inc., which he co-founded in 1994. In this Stanford lecture, he talks about the five biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make and five critical skills that entrepreneurs need.



Related Links: www.auctiondrop.com

Last Updated: Wed, Apr 19, 2006



Course Details:

- Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Speaker Series

- Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner (ecorner)



Original Course Name: Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Speaker Series.