Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2023

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. The days are gone when marketing was all “pushing product.” by the so-called godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi.

Content 104

Content Customer Custom Marketing 104

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

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

Sales Technical Review Organization Case Study 375

socalTECH

MAY 8, 2018

San Diego-based Inseego , which develops mobile products for the enterprise and other markets, said on Monday afternoon that it has named Rick Harris as Senior Vice President, Enterprise Sales for the Americas. Inseego said Harris has more than 20 years of experience in the enterprise sales area. READ MORE>>.

Sales 100

Sales Symantec IBM IBM 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2020

The world of marketing is changing faster than technology these days. Winning entrepreneurs have long since supplemented conventional print and video “push” marketing with digital online interactive “pull” marketing, and a while back added social-local-mobile ( SoLoMo ) to the mix. Modernize the user website experience.

Mobile 173

Mobile Marketing Technical Review Startup 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

While you all recognize that reacting to weak market signals is critical to staying in business and staying competitive, I find that many don’t have the skills and focus to trigger change decisions on a timely basis. Scan for unmet needs to match new products. Don’t dismiss any new thing as a “flash in the pan.”

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Sales people tend to remember the latest product when selling to clients, not the one best for that customer. Tricked by recency.

Marketing 119

Marketing Metrics Demand Statistics 119

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

Since 2009 we’ve been in an unequivocal bull market. You’d imagine that companies selling tons of shelfware would quickly meet their deserved fate in the market, yet the spin around a category of software can fool buyers into thinking they “must have this product to compete.” ROI studies were published.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2021

This is a statement that they are willing and able (and successful) at projecting market and technology turns, not just straight-line innovations. They have the courage to make bold decisions, often contrary to conventional market research. It gives a product structure and style, and makes it memorable and unique.

Marketing 157

Marketing Design Entrepreneur Ideas 157

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Our interview today is with Amos Schwartzfarb , the author of Sell More Faster: The Ultimate Sales Playbook for Start-Ups , which comes out tomorrow, Wednesday. We caught up with Amos to learn about his new book, and to gain some tips for startup entrepreneurs on how to figure out when you're actually ready to scale your sales team.

Sales 113

Sales Startup Custom Development Framework 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2020

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. The days are gone when marketing was all “pushing product.” by the so-called godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi.

Customer 127

Customer Custom Marketing Content 127

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Santa Barbara-based Invoca, which develops artificial intelligence powered, sales conversation tools and call tracking products, says it is launching a certification program for its agency customers. The company said the new program is free.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Santa Barbara Training Sales 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 16, 2013

San Diego-based driver monitoring systems provider SmartDrive Systems announced this morning that it has named Michael Baker as its new Vice President of Worldwide Sales. SmartDrive said that Baker has 20 years of experience in the technology, trucking, and construction industries to the company. READ MORE>>.

Sales 138

Sales San Diego Services Marketing 138

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

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

Sales Startup Technical Review Customer 346

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

Your first customers for any product or service form your reference base, the important group of allies that your marketing and salespeople rely upon when attempting to create buzz and make a mass market for a new product. Capture every compliment and ask if you can use it for marketing purposes.

Resource 156

Resource Customer Custom Product 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Marketing is everything these days.

Customer 109

Customer Custom Satisfaction Sales 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2022

Dini, tied together several threads I have often seen in my own experience of mentoring and helping aspiring entrepreneurs. In business, entrepreneurs hunt for new innovative solutions to problems, new ways of beating competitors, new markets, and new customers. They build businesses as their lifestyle, not as a job.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Marketing News Slides 124

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

I’ll publish the final post in this series this week and then move on to my next series – sales & marketing. I’ll be covering my PUCCKA sales methodology. Domain Experience – “Domain experience&# means that the founders have worked in the industry before. He’s a star.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

TechCrunch LA

MAY 3, 2022

The other side of the business is a new monthly subscription service for stylists that helps them market their handcrafted wigs, beauty and other digital products and services. Winters explained that the driver for the new funding was technology and product development on the marketplace, marketing and stylist acquisition.

Tool 179

Tool Customer Custom Marketing 179

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Does your business have a visible positive strategy, or do your customers and employees still see your primary focus as closing more sales and killing competitors? They want relationships, positive experiences, and a win-win for society. Market and customer positioning. Customer and employee value propositions.

Competition 110

Competition Sales Customer Custom 110

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I have adopted the motto “ good judgment comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgment. 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.).

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 19, 2018

She also serves on the board of Shoes of Prey, a custom shoe company currently aimed at the women’s market. Now she’s taking an ops position at one of the biggest players in the sneaker market. Along with StockX , GOAT has brought a huge amount of access and pricing transparency to resale sneakers, a billion-plus market.

Marketing 203

Marketing Sales Platform Los Angeles 203

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

This is part of a series on sales & marketing. I previously covered how early phase sales teams should be “evangelical&# and consultative in nature. The first post on scaling sales dealt with “aiming&# your sales teams – making sure they were focused on the right opportunities.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the classic one by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., “ The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.”

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

socalTECH

MARCH 7, 2011

Arcadia-based Myricom , the developer of low latency, 10 Gigabit Ethernet clustering products for the high performance computing (HPC) market, said Monday that it has named Mike McPherson as the firm's new Vice President, Worldwide Sales. Myricom said that McPherson has over 30 years of experience in the business.

Sales 168

Sales Arcadia Networking Marketing 168

Berkonomics

JULY 13, 2023

Here are several examples of tactics from my recent experience with companies where I serve as board member. Assign our development manager to localize design and oversee the needed enhancements to our product and support materials for each new territory. Five tactics to support each strategy seem a fair, even if arbitrary number.

Resource 156

Resource Examples Tool Sales 156

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

To bring that ability to name your own price on products, Los Angeles-based Greentoe (www.greentoe.com) recently launched, allowing consumers to name their own price to retailers of everything from electronics to baby products. Joe Marrapodi: GreenToe is a name your own price marketplace for products. What is Greentoe?

Pricing 273

Pricing Product Help Sales 273

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. But to scale the business, they need the complementary expertise, experience, connections, oversight, and new capital connections of a formal board of directors. Switch your attention from product development to sales.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

I’d like to talk about Crocodile Salesmen in 3 scenarios: 1) when YOU are selling (or someone on your team), 2) when you are trying to recruit a sales person. But how to apply “listening&# in a sales meeting? Beware of Crocodile Sales. They are seldom productive. I still do this sometimes, too.

Sales 314

Sales Startup Venture Capital Customer 314

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

These are your candidates, because they are companies already absorbing much or all the marketing expense necessary to make sales of your invention. They will be more willing to pay a royalty fee if your product gets them to market earlier or is protected by patent to create a barrier to their competition.

IP 136

IP Product Equity Tool 136

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. But through nearly a decade of startups I learned that sales comes down to three essential elements: 1.

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Berkonomics

JUNE 4, 2020

Here’s the importance of that event and how it affects every productive move you make after that moment. That’s impressive sales leverage. No good Internet-based business fails to measure conversion rate carefully and experiment with photo placement, ad words, key descriptions, product positioning – all to increase conversion.

.Net 156

.Net Sales Tool Email 156

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2010

Many of you have read or at least know the primary thesis of “ Crossing the Chasm &# the seminal book on marketing your products to mainstream consumers by Geoffrey Moore. It influenced a generation of tech marketers. We all intuitively know this curve now but we don’t all market effectively to it.

Marketing 294

Marketing Customer Custom Technical Review 294

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2021

You may think this is only important to your marketing and sales people, but in reality it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer decision process. Every aspect of your business must be about sales.

Customer 136

Customer Custom Sales Social Media 136

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. The days are gone when marketing was all “pushing product.” by the so-called godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi.

Marketing 100

Marketing Content Advertising Customer 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 27, 2009

Irvine-based WiSpry announced today that it has hired on Lewis Boore as the firm's Vice President of Marketing and Sales. WiSpry, which develops RF semiconductors used for mobile phones, laptops, and other wirelss products, said that Boore joins the firm from Newmerix SA in Switzerland. READ MORE>>.

Sales 100

Sales Tech Coast Angels Marketing Venture Capital 100

InfoChachkie

JULY 7, 2016

The entrepreneur cannot wait to show me their product via a demo. You’re the first one I’ve met who didn’t want to see our product.” I then explain that I evaluate the veracity of a product by seeking guidance from current, past and prospective users, rather than relying on a product demonstration. Don’t Demo Me Bro.

Venture Capital 176

Venture Capital Product Software Review Technical Review 176

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Marketing is everything these days.

Sales 165

Sales Customer Custom Social Media 165