Taking steps

My team and I have been involved in some large ICOs in recent months, as well as other forms of tokenized offerings, and I feel it’s worth mentioning that however big and complex these are, the basics must not be forgotten. There are some incredibly talented people creating new enterprises and tokenized offerings, many of which are well thought through. And you know what? – There are also many people who believe that they can get by, ‘On a wing and a prayer.’ In other words, they are so excited by their product or service that they imagine everyone else will immediately ‘get it’, especially the bigtime investors they’re hoping to attract. Well here’s the news folks: however fantastic and exciting the big story is, it still has to be backed by solid groundwork.

I’m fond of using the metaphor of taking flight with our enterprises, and the importance of the pre-flight checks that the pilots make, and which they never skip. To remind clients of this I included a ‘Pilot’s Checklist’ in my book, 6 Proven Steps to Attract ICO Investors, and in my experience, the process of marketing an enterprise really is one of going through the basics… and taking one step at a time. Skip a step, and you’re risking the whole flight plan: the pilot doesn’t just check the starboard engine, then say ‘Oh I guess the port engine will be OK as well’ and leave it at that. Obviously, the pilot checks both engines, equally carefully.

However, many businesses are attempting to raise millions without ever having a joined-up marketing plan. They are – in effect – checking only one of the engines. They may know their desired destination, but what is the route, and do they have enough fuel to get there? All the time our markets, and the investors we are hoping to attract, are becoming more and more professional, and it is true that some ICOs have ‘upped their game’ to meet increased demands for the whole process to also become more professional. And yet I still see Whitepapers which look as if they were dashed off at the last minute, or hear from potential clients who haven’t even assigned any of their budgets to marketing, because… well, why?
Marketing is one of those ‘extras’ that everyone more or less understands, or rather, they think they understand. So once the website is up and running, and the money is rolling in, they’ll get around to thinking about marketing then, right?
Wrong.

So here’s my challenge to you: If I’m right about there being 6 Proven Steps to Attract ICO Investors (and of course I believe I am right!) then what do you think those 6 steps are? I’ll send a free copy of my book to the first 10 people to get it right, although I suppose logically the book should really be going to those who get it wrong!
It’s really worth thinking about these steps because as far as I know, no pilot ever wanted their plane to crash on take-off.

These aren’t my answers, but they might stimulate your thinking:
https://cryptopotato.com/10-keys-evaluating-initial-coin-offering-ico-investments/
https://medium.com/swlh/4-things-investors-look-for-in-an-ico-12b17874bfc1
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/312148