Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Train them fully, give them authority, make them accountable, and tie their pay to customer satisfaction. It must be understandable, written down, and verifiable, with regular measurements and metrics to make it real, benchmarked against the competition. Train and coach continuously. Train and coach continuously.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. Typically some production and delivery is outsourced, requiring formal contracts and documentation. Show that you have a process to hire, fire, and train others as required.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

InfoChachkie

APRIL 13, 2015

Avoid a simple pricing mistake which could sink your startup. Vendors often respond by discounting their prices at the 11th hour, in the hopes a lower price will spur a purchase. However, if you never offer price discounts to anyone, you can resist all such requests by deferring to your company “policy.”

Pricing 100

Pricing Startup Sales SaaS 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2021

One question I often hear from solo entrepreneurs, and she addresses directly, is “How do I set the right price for my services?” The simple answer is to balance supply and demand, but here are some specific considerations that she and I both proclaim as key factors: Use project pricing rather than hourly rates.

Pricing 149

Pricing Mentor Entrepreneur News 149

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has forced Energica to hit the brakes on production of its battery powered machines that can reach top speeds of 168 mph. Before the health crisis shutdown most of Italy, Energica had already seen larger demand for its high-performance e-motos, with a price range of $17,000 to $23,000.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Hire and train your own managers for internal and external work projects. Labor rates are lower in some countries, but culture and language match are the real keys to productivity. Fixed price bidding is the only effective outsourcing model.” Fair compensation is the lowest price we can negotiate.” Be flexible.

Outsource Development 138

Outsource Development Outsource Summary Training 138

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Will the marketplace accept your product? Is there a market for your class of product at all? If you are big enough to have a dedicated product manager, that person is a good candidate for this ongoing task, as is a marketing manager, who should be attuned to the changes in the environment. Second is product risk.

Competition 156

Competition Marketing Class Product 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

For example, consider Whole Foods , whose focus on healthy foods and a sustainable environment is legendary, even though their prices are often a bit higher. Highlight the competitive edge you bring to the market. Quantify the results, and avoid any fuzzy words, such as better usability, advanced technology, or more productivity.

Marketing 116

Marketing Resource Training Startup 116

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Production. Competition.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. I had never had any sales training so everything we did for the first couple of years was instinctual. They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. Many businesses have found that raising the price of a product to give it status can win more customers than a price war.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. As a founder, when you’ve been dealing with these kinds of objections for a couple of years it becomes natural and you easily handle objections on price, product & competition without much thought.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Here are my recommendations for training and managing your team to keep their delivery memorable for customers, as well as profitable for your business: Hire team members who enjoy customer interaction. Provide training, tools, and required decision authority. That approach still is meaningful today.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Create an environment that unleashes these competencies and trains and pushes them to the fore. Companies can use this strategy to improve their profitability and competitive advantage. Craft your culture into an actionable plan.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. Typically some production and delivery is outsourced, requiring formal contracts and documentation. Show that you have a process to hire, fire, and train others as required.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” That implies competitive now, and the potential to stay in the lead.

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Make sure you adopt the right hiring practices and training to keep your team responsive.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

Others stage elaborate “training” sessions, to “assure” that everyone tells the same story. Explain that they may be called, and use the opportunity to check their satisfaction with your company and your product. Validation of product. If the product is in customer hands, expect some customers to be interviewed.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

Hire and train your own managers for internal and external work projects. Labor rates are lower in some countries, but culture and language match are the real keys to productivity. Fixed price bidding is the only effective outsourcing model.” Fair compensation is the lowest price we can negotiate.” Be flexible.

Outsource Development 121

Outsource Development Outsource Entrepreneur Summary 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? You know the basic ingredients, and you can visualize the results you want. But don’t practice too long.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. I had never had any sales training so everything we did for the first couple of years was instinctual. We focused together on improving our sales methodology, our training and our comp plans. Sales people often blame the product.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2012

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Product is free, but you pay for services. Portfolio pricing.

Pricing 112

Pricing Competition Customer Custom 112

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Create an environment that unleashes these competencies and trains and pushes them to the fore. Companies can use this strategy to improve their profitability and competitive advantage. Craft your culture into an actionable plan.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. You need a trained CFO to fill the financial gaps on your team. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). If your product is a commodity, the margin may be as thin as ten percent. Cost-based model.

Startup 114

Startup Pricing Customer Custom 114

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? You know the basic ingredients, and you can visualize the results you want. But don’t practice too long.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. How profitable is my product or service? As an early-stage VC I love this phase.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2012

Formal training courses. Larger enterprises are always sending their “high fliers” to leadership refreshers, new technology updates, and training on employee performance management. The result is a sinking feeling after some time that you are no longer vital and competitive in your own domain. Personal wealth management.

Startup 94

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Training 94

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2016

They are trained in school, and by many experts, that running a business requires logical workflows and analytical thinking. Offer incentives or competition. There is nothing like friendly competition or an attractive reward to bring out a new base of un-edited ideas. This approach works best if you make it a quick effort.

Ideas 103

Ideas Competition Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Make sure you adopt the right hiring practices and training to keep your team responsive.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124