How to Use the Funnel Method to Bring Ideas to Life

The funnel method can be successfully applied not only in sales, but also in organizing your own activities and achieving goals. Entrepreneur and venture investor Mark Suster explained how to do this. Lifehacker publishes a translation of his thoughts. Those who work in sales are familiar with this method. For salespeople, this is even a completely natural reflex, which is undoubtedly useful in daily practice and has been adopted by many professionals. I hasten to please you that if you are not in a hurry to classify yourself as the latter, then knowledge of some of the features and principles of this very funnel, which will be discussed, can significantly contribute to the disclosure of your potential. Funnel Method So, let's begin. Imagine an inverted pyramid, in the widest part of which are your ideas and persistent work on them. However, right now you are not sure about the success of their implementation. Remember your first job interview, meeting with clients, on-camera interview or public speech. Surely, not everything went smoothly. It is important that all interesting ideas and opportunities that live in your head fall into the funnel. At the same time, our goal is to end up in its lower narrow part. Ultimately, this will be an indicator of success for us. Yes, it is always good when you have something to offer on the agenda. But, you must agree, the result should justify the effort expended. Use common sense: do not waste time discussing dubious ideas, plan interviews with potential employees more carefully, avoid empty discussions and meetings that lead to nothing. Quantity does not always turn into quality. And remember the main thing: time is money. I am sure that there are those around you who have no idea what should end up there, at the very bottom of the funnel. As a rule, it is not difficult to recognize them: regulars of all kinds of specialized events, in pursuit of bright prospects, they love to talk about new opportunities and brilliant ideas, the implementation of which is not their destiny. It often happens that the slightest mistake made by such a "party-goer" at work ultimately results in lost trust in him. It is important to understand whether there are such people around you. As you know, a bad example is contagious, and therefore doubly dangerous. Today we are talking about a specific problem: often people tend to confuse productivity with busyness, not paying due attention to working on the result. In this case, the funnel method simply will not work. I had to take part in briefings on the largest projects, gathering many potential investors at one table. You will be surprised, but most of these meetings ended in nothing, because it is easier to gather people together than to make them speak the same language. Remember what the story of the Tower of Babel teaches us. For me as a board member, letting any production process slide is akin to suicide. Not long ago, I worked with a successful investment company that was trying to strengthen its position in the market. One day, a meeting was scheduled with senior management, at which I arrived and asked: What are our three goals for achieving success in the current quarter? We began to discuss, and soon an understanding was reached, and the goals were defined and written on the board. Ever since then, when we gather for another project meeting, we first discuss progress on each of the three objectives and do not touch on other topics until we are sure that we are not standing still. I am sure that other colleagues are guided by the same principle in striving to always achieve tangible results in their work. I once helped with the search for a candidate for the position of CEO of a portfolio company. The person suitable for this role had to be demanding and decisive. As soon as a worthy candidate came into my field of vision, I put all my current affairs aside and worked on him until I got him to sign a contract for employment. What does this mean? That's right, I have no shortage of persistence. Perhaps, the presence of this quality in me helped me achieve success in my business. For the same reason, my colleagues are unlikely to be surprised to receive a letter from me late at night. Of course, some things worthy of my attention sometimes pass by. But those that are truly interesting to me - never. A long time ago, I came across the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey. After reading it, I learned three basic rules that I use to this day. So, here they are: Always be one step ahead. When working on something, focus on the desired result. Remember your priorities. As you can see, it's all pretty simple. Take action! Know where you're going and what path you're on. Set your priorities right. Don't waste time on unimportant things. It's important to remember that no matter what you're doing, be it recruiting, finding clients or business partners, the funnel is only effective if you're able to complete the tasks at hand. Having a gun in the house is not the same as being a sniper. I'm saying this for one simple reason: we spend months sitting in meetings, wasting time going through presentations and analyzing all sorts of graphs of change dynamics, listening to lengthy discussions about the possible benefits of merging companies' assets. What the hell is all this for if we haven't gotten to signing a contract yet? Yes, the ability to identify new opportunities is a valuable skill in itself. Making these opportunities work for you is a completely different story.

Like cotton candy. It seems like there are a lot of letters, but it's not clear how to use it in practice :dry: