Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2013

Every sales organization with more than a handful of reps or that is across multiple offices or time zones would benefit from having a sales methodology. But the number one reason sales stall when customers see the value in what you do is because they often don’t have a reason to buy NOW. The USP solves the, “Why Buy Me?”

Sales 328

Sales Customer Custom Examples 328

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

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. The real test of sales and the topic of my post is “why buy now.” It’s what kills most sales cycles including raising venture capital. I know I didn’t.

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 14, 2013

If you have your eyes and ears open, you can discover sales lessons in unexpected places, including the cable TV show, Say Yes To The Dress. There are a number of solid sales techniques on display by the Say Yes team. The show refers to the salespeople as "consultants," which reinforces each store's problem solving approach to selling.

Sales 251

Sales Startup Activity RSS 251

InfoChachkie

JULY 4, 2011

Man or woman, the tactics deployed by Sam are applicable to any sales situation and can be put to use by any salesperson, irrespective of their gender. For sake of grammatical convenience, I will refer to Sam as a male in the remainder of this entry. He continues smiling and deploys a rudimentary sales technique. Sam-I-Am.”.

Sales 219

Sales Entrepreneur Startup Product 219

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2014

Sales tax compliance is not a typical sexy startup area. So, it was a surprise when a number of smart, insider angels -- including Roy Rubin (founder of Magento, which he sold to eBay), and Dan Rose (VP of Partnerships at Facebook)--put their money behind TaxJar (www.taxjar.com), a San Diego startup developing sales tax compliance software.

Sales 149

Sales Software Startup Commerce 149

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

In my first enterprise software company we developed a methodology for sales that we called PUCCKA , which I wrote about previously. Having a good sales methodology can help you ensure your company runs more disciplined campaigns and focuses scarce resources on your best opportunities. It the second rule of sales, “Why Buy Me?”

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. If I were looking at which VCs to choose I would reference strongly for which ones are supportive in good times and bad. The best way – of course – is to reference check.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

Often recruiters want to handle the final negotiations on package and/or do the reference calls. I’m also reluctant to hand over reference calling. I know that no recruiter will agree with me on this point, but I’ll tell you that I’m certain there’s a positive bias in reference calls.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

So when I meet with GRP portfolio companies that do enterprise sales I try to emphasize the following: 1. Often your sales engineers can do the customizations without bugging the core eng team. Integrate PS Work Into Sales & Marketing Processes. Referenceability is the lifeblood of sales.

Software Review 322

Software Review Software Services Company 322

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. Given customers & sales are the lifeblood of any organization you’d imagine everybody would respect their customers. Contrast that with a VC conversation I had. Startup Lessons'

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2011

Goldstar said it is giving away $50 gift certificates to tickets through the site to members who refer more than 10 friends to the site as part of a promotion celebrating the milestone. The business is directly aimed at the issue of unsold inventory at entertainment venues. READ MORE>>.

Sales 124

Sales Entertainment Email Sites 124

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2011

The bill requires out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on purchases if they have any affiliates in the state of California. Affiliate programs allow website owners to collect a small fee for referring customers to e-commerce retailers, and have been a common way for web sites to monetize their Internet traffic.

Web 217

Web Commerce Marketing Sales 217

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

By now you have many smart people around your board but probably people who don’t totally understand the nuances of your employees, customers, sales reps, marketing messages, technology challenges, competitors and strategic choices. how much energy to put into channel partners vs. direct sales. how to evolve our management team.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

Early in a services business there is usually no profits as the company reinvests in hiring people to grow, but by $20 million in sales the company should at least be pulling in 10% profits (if not more) depending on how much is reinvested. Who are your competitors – how much do they charge?&#. It’s pure irony. interest?

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2012

TrueCar has been running into issues with a number of states, because of their broker laws and laws against "bird-dogging"--where dealers pay people to refer car buyers to them. TrueCar was charging dealerships a "success fee" for sales made due to leads from the site.

Truecar 185

Truecar Santa Monica Advertising Sales 185

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2017

He was just trying to collect more data for his startup on what was happening on real estate deals that the company had been referring to brokers. We did a test where our team would only focus on collecting emails, and emailing those prospects, and correlating the number of responses to the number of potential sales.

Sales 145

Sales Startup Email Tool 145

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

It has also influenced my thoughts, as evidenced by the six infoChachkie blog entries which reference Art. I read Enchantment anticipating that it might augment my Entrepernurial Selling class, which focuses on influence and persuasion, rather than sales tactics. For instance, Guy refers to an entrepreneur’s venture as their “cause.”

Technical Review 280

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 280

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2017

Your first customers for any product or service form your reference base, the important group of allies that your marketing and sales people rely upon when attempting to create buzz and make a mass market for a new product. There is so much history behind this insight, and so many stories that illustrate this point.

Customer 243

Customer Custom Resource Sales 243

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. An obvious example would be in sales. By going on sales calls you pick up directly the feedback of what customers want and also what they’re telling you about competition.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Back to Mr. Christensen, “We subsidize their education in fields for which there are no jobs” he said in referring to the fact that many courses at universities are still taught with skills that aren’t relevant to the 21st century needs of the US workforce. The numerator (return) encourages more sales, which is fine.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2012

Your entrée to sales meetings. Helping with a Sales Lead. This might be somebody I know well (thus the email will come very highly referred) or somebody I just met for which the company will get the “I just met this person. She looks very competent but you’d have to apply your own filter / check reference.

Email 359

Email Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 359

TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

References: The company should willingly provide references. Do they assist with the transition to in-house or other developers? How do they handle hosting and support? Client Retention: Do they have repeat or long-term clients?

Software Development 297

Software Development Software Review Develop Development 297

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

Greg was the CMO at HauteLook from the early days all the way through growing the business to 12 million registered users and far in excess of $200 million in annual sales. I made some reference calls. .” I always felt the same. After that you could tell that Greg was really “all in” on the LA technology community.

Venture Capital 360

Venture Capital GRP Partners Startup Invest 360

InfoChachkie

APRIL 13, 2015

Because I am cheap and I know that car dealers are incentivized by the manufacturer to hit quarterly and annual sales goals. Thus, the value of a sale at the end of a quarter can be significant, if the sale contributes to obtaining a manufacturer''s incentive. Avoid The End-Of-The-Quarter Trou Drop.

Pricing 244

Pricing Startup Sales SaaS 244

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Shockingly, some of the recommended tactics pitched by NPS gurus could actually decrease your sales by solidifying a propensity to not promote your solution. Yes” responses are prime candidates for future references. Tags: Entrepreneur Sales The Fringe. A Net Promoter Score of 10 and a bank account of 0 equal a failed venture.

.Net 182

.Net Satisfaction Entrepreneur Customer 182

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

” Who cut you in on their bonus because even though you’re “just an sales engineer” they know you really deserved more credit for this deal. When you’re hiring most reference checkers focus on the person’s former bosses. Who in stead said, “That’s what Skype is for?” ” Wowza.

CTO Hire 321

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 321

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. While I’m a huge believer that sales bonuses should always be uncapped, I think capping PBW’s is a good idea.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2010

Speaking at a “city tour&# in which Salesforce.com sales reps and executive management were present. Taking reference calls from prospects considering using our products. Tags: Sales & Marketing Advice Startup Advice. Heroes told our success stories, not us.

Marketing 294

Marketing Customer Custom Technical Review 294

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2015

And as everybody in sales knows – the mantra is “nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Write out the reason you’re calling, your key points and “the ask” in advance and your time allotment so you can always refer back and make sure you’re tracking to your plan.

Startup 319

Startup Email Writing Course 319

Berkonomics

MAY 4, 2017

With a wide track, angled aggressively at the curves, and being told to hug the wall on the straightaways, there was little reference available to a novice driver as to speed. I had that thrill when a student at the Richard Petty Stock Car School of Driving at a motor speedway in California.

Metrics 266

Metrics Screening Email Customer 266

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2013

” How can businesses not incorporate information into their marketing and sales funnels? Pier who has built a world-class sales organization and processes. Ming who the hero of so many customers whose primary reference to other customers is, “make sure you get a Ming.” should I go Audi or BMW?”

Social Media 358

Social Media Yammer Invest Organization 358

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2010

if you don’t have the reference and want it you can click the image above). And I couldn’t help but noticing the adversity in this article on NY Times interviewing Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures : “Before the sale [of GeoCities], we were completely broke. Whether you choose to be happy or not is up to you.

Blogging 407

Blogging Tips Press Startup 407

socalTECH

MAY 7, 2012

Fine Art America handles all of the details of fulfilling sales for images. By prints, I am referring to anything that hangs on a wall, whether that's a framed photo, framed canvas, acrylic. You hit submit, and your images are instantly available for sale as prints on our website. all of that for more than a 100,000 members.

Santa Monica 258

Santa Monica Pricing Sites Sales 258

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 25, 2013

I’m not talking only about a sales call, getting past the assistant or anything like that. Write out the reason you’re calling, your key points and “the ask” in advance and your time allotment so you can always refer back and make sure you’re tracking to your plan. How Can I Help?

Startup 364

Startup Writing Help Email 364

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

When people refer to a strategic investor they are usually talking about an investor that comes from the industry you serve as opposed to an independent venture capital investor. When they promise to help you with marketing, sales, distribution, integrated product development, etc. it sure is tempting.

Venture Capital 279

Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur Framework 279

InfoChachkie

JULY 7, 2016

Sales Mode – Demos intrinsically cause Founders to launch into sales mode. Our approach, which is certainly not unique, often results in sales, partnerships and otherwise productive relationships. Entrepreneurs often suggest customer references that arose from a highly curated introduction or prior relationship.

Venture Capital 176

Venture Capital Product Software Review Technical Review 176

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Shockingly, some of the recommended tactics pitched by NPS gurus could actually decrease your sales by solidifying a propensity to not promote your solution. Yes” responses are prime candidates for future references. A Net Promoter Score of 10 and a bank account of 0 equal a failed venture. Turning Net Promoters Into Net Profits.

.Net 168

.Net Satisfaction Customer Custom 168