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The Danger of Crocodile Sales

Both Sides of the Table

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
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How I Got the Monkey Off My Back – Today Was a Good Day

Both Sides of the Table

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. The monkey on my back. ” Yup.

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5 Startup Challenges That Derail Many Entrepreneurs

Startup Professionals Musings

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Each of these can go astray as follows: Your product or service hits unexpected snags.

Startup 131
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How Early-Stage Startups Can Prepare for Their Big Break

Tech.Co

The quote “knowledge is power,” often attributed to Francis Bacon from his writings Meditationes Sacrae in 1597, definitely resonates with founders, Most because gaining knowledge about your market, landscape, and competitors, is a key way to gain strength and momentum. Add Mentors to Your Roster. Get Your Playbook Together.

Startup 87
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6 Incentives To Master The Art Of Marketing Yourself

Startup Professionals Musings

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Marketing 113
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10 Marketing Lessons for Early-Stage Tech Startups

Both Sides of the Table

Because market is such a broad topic, I’m restricting these lessons to PR marketing (as opposed SEO, SEM, product marketing, etc.). My general rule is that it’s good to be stealth in the early days while you’re building your product and testing your market. It’s a buggy product but pretty damn cool.

Marketing 380
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This is How Startups “Level Up” After Raising Money

Both Sides of the Table

If you’re an early investor like I am that often means writing the first $2-3 million check into a business that previously had either survived on fumes or on a $500,000 angel round. The best ones bring in more executive leadership so you can appropriate allocate resources across sales, marketing, product, engineering and support.

Startup 381