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Helping Startups Understand Salespeople & the Sales Culture

Both Sides of the Table

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. Specifically what is often not in the DNA of founders are sales skills. The result is a lack of knowledge of the process and of sales people themselves. My first startup was no different. Sales people: Are motivated by cash.

Sales 382
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Why Your Startup Needs a Sales Methodology

Both Sides of the Table

Like most startup entrepreneurs, when I began my first company in 1999 I had no formal sales experience. This is a very important to do when you first start a company. But before you achieve product / market fit you’re often in “consultative sales” mode where your objective is to tease out customer needs.

Sales 393
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The Berkus Method: Valuing an Early-Stage Investment

Berkonomics

Now we tackle the more difficult and subjective task of placing a value upon those startups that don’t fit into that mold. For those of us who’ve invested in early-stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem. There is nothing wrong with changing the five tests to meet individual needs.

Invest 306
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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 written a lot about recruiting and hiring at startups including my controversial post on whom not to hire and my rapid response to the flame war. Call high, and get passed down or; B. It’s too strategic. Not always, of course.

Sales 375
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Here is How to Make Sense of Conflicting Startup Advice

Both Sides of the Table

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking.

Startup 407
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The Very First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in is You

Both Sides of the Table

In the comments section a clever question popped up about whether I would have invested in myself before I became an investor. In fact, my salary never caught up with my pre startup salary across 2 companies and 8 years. Sometimes the discussion veers over into whether or not he or she should get an MBA before trying a startup.

Startup 409
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One of the Biggest Mistakes Enterprise Startups Make

Both Sides of the Table

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. But the “no sales people” mantra isn’t what I’m here to take on.

Startup 403