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How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle and Avoid Wasting Time

Both Sides of the Table

One of the questions I’m most often asked by CEOs is how to hire sales people. I’ve also written extensively on sales and on which sales execs to hire and how to think about the different kinds of sales leaders. If they’re not buying you need to be marketing to them not selling to them.

Sales 375
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6 Marketing Specifics That Apply To Every New Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

Marketing is everything these days. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. In fact, this article was driven by a startup press release I saw a while back, highlighting a startup’s “geo-fencing technology” as a new basis for discount coupons. They will call you back.

Marketing 141
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Here’s Why a Booming Tech Market May Fool You into Thinking You’re Successful

Both Sides of the Table

Since 2009 we’ve been in an unequivocal bull market. It’s when the noise stops and you can actually get customer attention, press articles and VC meetings. Growth markets have a way of fooling us all. When markets start to turn shelfware companies are the quickest to die. It’s when the game slows.

Marketing 354
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6 Keys To Sizing Your Market For A New Business Plan

Startup Professionals Musings

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Conduct your own customized market research. Modern libraries are still worth a visit.

Marketing 157
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10 Marketing Lessons for Early-Stage Tech Startups

Both Sides of the Table

The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. Because market is such a broad topic, I’m restricting these lessons to PR marketing (as opposed SEO, SEM, product marketing, etc.). I call this “marketing futures.&# You need some guidelines to make decisions.

Marketing 380
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Startup Sales – Why Hiring Seasoned Reps May Not Work

Both Sides of the Table

A while back I wrote a bunch of posts on Sales & Marketing and have been meaning to get back to that theme for a while. Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development.

Sales 346
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6 Keys To Marketing That Many Entrepreneurs Overlook

Startup Professionals Musings

Marketing is everything these days. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. In fact, this article was driven by a startup press release I saw a while back, highlighting a startup’s “geo-fencing technology” as a new basis for discount coupons. They will call you back.