Archive for the ‘Marketing and Sales’ Category.
The Customer Connection: The Global Innovation 1000
Booz Allen Hamilton’s annual study of the world’s largest corporate R&D spenders finds two primary success factors: aligning the innovation model to corporate strategy and listening to customers every step of the way.
NOTE: This is an Adobe PDF file. Download the Report in PDF
Market Research On The Cheap
By: Robert W. Price
BusinessWeek: Small Business
These are some great talking points in this article by John. Thanks for setting up a great discussion. We believe that best marketing research comes from studying “lead users.” Continue reading ‘Market Research On The Cheap’ »
How will you manage your customers via the Internet?
Managing Customer-Specific Relationships
Customer relationship management (CRM) combines a strategic business approach with technology. Managing customer relationships begins with a strategic awareness based on customer-focused themes. Continue reading ‘How will you manage your customers via the Internet?’ »
How will the Internet help your business?
Discussion About The Benefits of a Networked Enterprise
It is important that your networked components of business become an extension of your business model and business practices rather than just some adjunct service to a complex revenue event or a small element of your value chain. Continue reading ‘How will the Internet help your business?’ »
How will you collaborate with your customers?
Discussions About Creating a Collaborative Advantage
Created within each of these three relationships in your networked enterprise should be a system of constant interface to a value-added environment for information exchange. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a business leadership series professor at Harvard Business School, describes this interface as a “collaborative advantage.” Continue reading ‘How will you collaborate with your customers?’ »
What are marketing and sales controls?
Discussion About Your Marketing and Sales Controls
After working on your marketing and sales strategy, it is important to establish measurements that focus on key controllable variables that reflect performance results in your marketing and sales efforts. Continue reading ‘What are marketing and sales controls?’ »
What is the catalysis sales approach?
Introducing the Catalysis Sales Approach
Many entrepreneurs proceed by looking at a hundred different opportunities and ideas for their product, with the belief that their success will come in numbers. But only the most experienced entrepreneurs know there is just no way to go after all of them. As David Packard of Hewlett-Packard stated, “Many companies die from indigestion of opportunities rather than starvation.” Continue reading ‘What is the catalysis sales approach?’ »
What are your sales tactics?
Discussions About Your Sales Tactics
Since it is the least-discussed buying situation in literature and academic circles, and the most important for new business venturing, from this point on we shall direct our discussion to the entrepreneurs choosing their sales tactics for facilitating a new-task buying situation. Continue reading ‘What are your sales tactics?’ »
What is a value map?
Preparing Your Value Map
Today’s venture capitalists look to market traction, or “referenceability,” as the single most important element before investing in a new business venture. Brooke Seawell, general partner of Palo Alto-based Technology Crossover Partners, which invests primarily in expansion and late-stage start-ups, says, “The most important thing is, can I go to four or five referenceable customers who can tell me why they like this company over competitors.” Continue reading ‘What is a value map?’ »
Creating Your Marketing and Sales Strategies
Case In Point: Finis Conner, A Salesforce of One
In 1961 Finis Conner headed for California with $100 in his pockets. After a studying at San Jose State University he worked at the Memorex Corporation where he met his future business partner, Alan Shugart. Together they founded Shugart Associates in 1973, where they produced and sold 8″ hard disk drives. The company was sold to Xerox Corporation in 1977. Continue reading ‘Creating Your Marketing and Sales Strategies’ »
What is a revenue model?
Discussions of Your Revenue Model
Put simply, no business can exist without top line revenues from sales, no matter how well the other functions are handled. Your business plan must detail how you plan to price and sell your product, and how much money you plan to make. The basics should cover three broad aspects: your selling tactics, your revenue model, and your sales cycle. Continue reading ‘What is a revenue model?’ »
What is a sale crusader? Do we need sales reps?
Marketing Through a Sales Crusader
There are many great marketing, sales, advertising, and branding books and courses out there. They all say the same thing, that you need to create a marketing strategy that goes out looking for the customer. Unfortunately, all this literature and great in-class discussion accomplishes little for the emerging venture. Continue reading ‘What is a sale crusader? Do we need sales reps?’ »
What are marketing and sales objectives?
Discussions About Setting Marketing And Sales Objectives
The first objective of any business venture is to figure out how to gain paying customers. A great product without customers is not a business, though it may be a little more than a science project. Marketing involves increasing customer awareness, delivering a well-thought-out message about your product or service, and identifying customer prospects. Sales involves various efforts to convince those potential customers to buy your product. Continue reading ‘What are marketing and sales objectives?’ »
What is sales traction?
Discussions About Getting Sales Traction
Today’s venture capitalists look to market traction, or “referenceability,” as the single most important element before investing in a new business venture. Brooke Seawell, general partner of Palo Alto-based Technology Crossover Partners, which invests primarily in expansion and late-stage start-ups, says, “The most important thing is, can I go to four or five referenceable customers who can tell me why they like this company over competitors.” Continue reading ‘What is sales traction?’ »