Altcoins truly are a trustless environment.
Due to numerous incidents of scamming, miners are constantly concerned about the whereabouts of their beloved ‘Devs.’
They have every reason to worry. Miners and investors both can be hurt painfully if a Dev disappears. Even if his absence is temporary, it will cause gaps in communication. In altcoins, such a vacuum is almost always going to be filled instead with fear and doubt. If the doubts reach a toxic level, the coin value drops.
This pattern has played itself out again and again. In order for a coin project to succeed, the Dev must communicate his vision clearly and consistently with his community. Failure to do that WILL result in failure. If the Dev remains absent for long periods of time the coin will have difficulty attracting investment capital.
Not only must Devs communicate clearly and consistently, they must have well-developed interpersonal relationship skills. Many current Dev teams really lack in this regard. They’re unable to deal with people in a thoughtful and intelligent manner. Worse, some Devs seem to suffer from bad anger issues which serves to alienate those would-be allies.
Basic Communication Skills Include
- Salesmanship. No matter how a Dev may feel about it, he’s still the main brand ambassador for any coin. He must sell his vision to the market. After all people are putting hard-earned capital into the project based largely on the vision he has illustrated. Sell don’t yell.
- Never lose your temper! Anyone who loses their temper with potential investors shows a certain immaturity and lack of sophistication that will push people away from a cryptocoin.
- Answer any questions directed to you! Questions mean an investor is ready to buy more. Take the time to alleviate their concerns and answer their objections. Every time you can do that you can earn a new advocate who will help your brand grow.
- Don’t spend time talking about ‘whales, pumpers, and FUD.’ This makes you look like a manipulative loser who is only concerned about current prices. Long-term Devs stay focused on their project’s potential and keep their conversations on topic.
- Understand you’re selling a cryptocurrency. Many of the people interested in buying your coin will be new to the arena and will not understand every intricacy of altcoins. Be patient with them and do your best to make them feel like they’re part of a community. After all, altcoins are allegedly open-source community affairs, although many DO NOT feel that way at all.
- Be respectful. If the Dev isn’t respectful, chances are high that respect won’t be shown in return. You’re dealing with people and they will react emotionally to your project based on their perception of YOU.
Lately it’s clear that the average altcoin enthusiast (as presented on BitCoinTalk and Twitter) is getting much more demanding about Devs. It’s a good trend that should help to make altcoins better and better. As venture capital continues to flood the Bitcoin space, it’s highly likely that alternative cryptocurrencies will also be a huge beneficiary of such funds. How the Dev presents himself and his coin will go a long way towards attracting much-needed capital to a cryptocoin.
The Community Demands More From Devs
The teams that do the best job of creating value and COMMUNICATING their plans to a mass audience are the ones who will succeed. All others will fail miserably.
Communication is one area that all coin Devs have control over. They should be able to control their behavior and act in a certain way that the public has come to expect. If in doubt, they can model themselves after ‘real companies‘ that are publicly traded. They have public conference calls where they are grilled by analysts. Despite the intensity of the calls, the teams must stay professional or their companies could literally fail. Altcoin Dev teams should take the same approach to any public communications.
Altcoins, like traditional markets, have been the victims of scams and frauds many times. Investors (and miners too who use electricity) all have the RIGHT to question everything and anything about an altcoin. They are merely doing due diligence before parting with their hard-earned capital. Give them the answers they seek for their investment and the rewards are unlimited.
Thanks for stopping by and reading. Which Dev team do you think is doing a good job of communicating? Please comment below!
