Behind almost every great startup there’s a team, and on every team you have a group of people that start the game – the ones who are there from the opening tip-off or kick-off, on launch day.
While companies rarely stick with only their original founders and staff members, typically adding or replacing some employees as time passes, the core group of employees involved in the launch will have an instrumental impact on the initial public perception and employee performance exhibited in the early stages of company development.
Obviously, this makes selecting your starting lineup a very critical process. Once you’ve chosen your team, here’s how you can use authoritative speakers to get everyone motivated and prepared for a productive launch and first month of operation:
1. Start with a motivational speaker
First and foremost, all of your employees need to be motivated and excited to proceed in the most efficient and professional manner possible. Authoritative motivational speakers can help insert much-needed inspiration and positive perspective into what can otherwise be a stressful process during the first days of a new startup’s existence.
Of course, it would be best to select a motivational speaker that has extensive experience delivering speeches in the corporate or small business environments, as well as one who has a financial or entrepreneurial background with a solid understanding of employee motivation tactics.
2. Bring in a business strategy speaker
Once you have your team motivated, energized, and enthusiastic about the upcoming launch and their role in it, it’s time to get down to the logistics and start discussing strategies that can drive the startup forward.
Business strategy speakers don’t necessarily take control of your company’s strategies or offer specific recommendations, instead they provide valuable insight into time-tested methods of developing scalable strategies that can accommodate the rapidly rising demands of a burgeoning startup.
Introducing your entire team to the concept of business strategy and how it can be applied in various situations is a great way to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes time to have that first meeting or group recap.
3. Throw in the sales and marketing speaker
Now that your team is motivated and well-versed in the strategic aspect of company and workflow management, it’s time to delve into the crux of conversion – sales and marketing.
A speaker specializing in this topic can effectively teach your squad how to close deals, manage advertising budgets, and identify ideal marketing opportunities, as well as how to develop a marketing mindset to facilitate efforts that will inevitably prove to be worthwhile over time.
You might be thinking “all of this sales and marketing jargon is common knowledge,” but many of these speakers take the subject to a much deeper level of analysis after having gained years of experience in the field.
Oftentimes their presentations will include real case studies and examples that illustrate powerful techniques mostly used by industry insiders and veterans.
4. Top it off with your own speech and allow group contributions
After letting the three types of speakers above have their say in their respective fields, you can then deliver a more personalized message to your staff as the leader of the business.
As the final speaker, you’ll be in a position to comment or expound upon some of the points made by the previous speakers and discuss how their points apply to your overall game plan.
Once you’re done detailing the outline of launch day and the first week, you can let staff members provide their input by raising their hand to engage in constructive a group dialogue.
Pre-launch sessions like this could result in some important adjustments that prove to be crucial when the volume of transactions starts to increase and places a burden on the staff’s workflow capacity.
The ideal pre-launch event
If one could draw up an ideal pre-launch event, it would at least include a similar sequence of speeches to that described above, accompanied by an online course or PDF that the employees could use to further their training and/or remind themselves of the company’s mission and primary short-term objectives.
Each employee should be well-trained in their job position and should be tested via quizzes or other competency tests as necessary. Depending on the industry your business operates in, it might be worthwhile to consider the addition of other types of speakers, such as those who specialize in media, leadership, law, intellectual property, retail, social networking, or other topics that will fit well with your business model.