Dragons' Den host Dianne Buckner, of CBC Television

Dianne Buckner wears many hats. You probably recognize her as the host of CBC’s long-running business program Venture and as host of Dragons’ Den. Buckner is also a reporter, news anchor and a producer. In fact, Buckner had a large hand in bringing Dragon’s Den to Canada (the show’s format is owned by Sony and versions of it run in 16 countries around the world).

Over the past decade or so, no one has been closer to Canadian small business than Dianne Buckner. The DVC Smalltech Letter’s “5 Questions” for Buckner, in the July issue, focuses on the Dragons’ Den. For Unlimited, I her about start-ups. The 6th Question for Buckner:

What is the most common mistake you see first-time entrepreneurs make when it comes to sales and marketing?

Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I would say with sales, the most common mistake is forecasting results that are overly optimistic. Then if the sales don’t come through as quickly as predicted, first-time entrepreneurs can be left cash-poor, and scrambling to stay afloat. Ideally start-ups are well-capitalized, and able to stay the course until sales revenue kicks in — easier said than done these days!

As for marketing, this is critically important for success, but from what I’ve seen and heard, it can be a minefield. I’ve heard stories of rookie entrepreneurs squandering large sums of money on misguided campaigns. Our Dragon Arlene Dickinson [who appeared on the June 2009 issue of Alberta Venture] runs a marketing firm called Venture Communications, and she often points out that grassroots marketing campaigns can be done these days for a relatively small investment, using social media, guerilla tactics, etc.). It seems the key is to think long and hard about what approach will be most cost-effective for your business.