Andy,

I have long thought that the tech-head engineer would need a smooth talking
salesman as a partner to make it a go.   Apparently, you solve this by
making good allies of people in the selling business anyway.  (smart.)

An Mchip rep or FAE would be a really good ally to have!

I've been working on ally relationships with a couple of other
manufacturer's reps - baiscally "If you need in-depth tech support and
programming for my parts, see this guy"  It helps if the supplier has some
kind of certification program similar to Mchip's "Certified PIC Geek" or
whatever they call it program.

How else does one go about drumming up business?  Advertise in the
classifieds next to the used bicycles?<G> Scmoooze with the bigwigs at the
Chamber of Commerce dinners?   Post a web page under "Inventors and
Crackpots - Get your Invention built here"?

-- Lawrence "one foot in the independant consulting business" Lile



-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Kunz <akunz@TDIPOWER.COM>
To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Monday, March 06, 2000 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [OT] Contracting business


>>#3:  Your first year or two will be thin on income.  REAL thin.  Unless
you
>have high quality business lined up already.
>
>Sometimes other years, too.  Been there, done that.
>
>Chris' other advice is good.
>
>Personally, I found that if I ever want to go out on my own again, I will
have a
>SALES FORCE who can do the initial contact for me.  FWIW, my local FAI guy
has
>been really good about this.  But only because I've brought several $10K+
>customers (repeaters, not one-time-buys) to him.  And be LOYAL to the guy,
>whoever it is.
>
>Never say anything bad about other customers to anybody (even your wife),
no
>matter what jerks they are.  We all get to act that way from time to time;
be as
>forgetful of their inadequacies as you'd like them to be of yours.
>
>NEVER EVER EVER tell them a lie.  "It's almost ready." etc.
>
>Andy