Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

Many people are too cautious in sales processes and as a result when they present their solutions they end up sounding milquetoast and undifferentiated from anybody else in the market. I recently wrote about the three rules of sales. In sales we often call these USPs (I wrote about them here: Unique Selling Propositions ).

SaaS 315

SaaS VC strategy entrepreneurs 315

Dream It

APRIL 3, 2020

Geoffrey Moore , acclaimed author of “Crossing the Chasm,” and most recently “Zone to Win” joined us to chat with Steve Barsh on how to provoke customers to increase sales in a downturn. The approach flips traditional solution-based selling upside down. Provocation-based selling turns these challenges into opportunities.

pitching 221

pitching strategy advice board 221

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

VC 329

VC entrepreneurs investment investing 329

American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 7, 2025

The 2024 holiday shopping season marked a landmark for online retail, with global holiday retail sales surging to a record breaking $1.2 However, while retailers celebrated robust sales, high returns by customers could dampen profit margins, with over $122 billion in global returnsa 28% increase compared to last year.

enablement 97

enablement entrepreneurship technology accelerator 97

Dream It

MARCH 6, 2020

For Ackerman, the pitch is a test of sales skills, and lack of preparation raises concerns about the founder’s ability to sale customers on their product. The firm is also looking at product that are adjacent to real estate tech, like urban mobility solutions. For hospitality, the model should focus on driving revenue.

real estate 406

real estate pitching VC opportunity 406

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 1, 2021

After The Med, I moved to New York and seasoned my career with hospitality, retail and sales positions at Craft Restaurant, Morrell & Company, Oriel Wines and Polaner Selections. These experiences taught me that I possessed excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated talent in sales and marketing. Managing expectations.

hospitality 268

hospitality leadership collaboration entrepreneurship 268

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Put simply – you need enough users in a segment who care about what you’re doing to dictate investing further in the product or in sales & marketing resources. One of the things I have observed over the years is that a hard charging sales oriented founder/CEO can often hide the defects in a product. The money quote.

strategy 401

strategy startup peer-to-peer advice 401

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

At times I wanted the engineering team to produce features to support our sales efforts to I occasionally leaned on them a bit. Tim had a great solution. Another area we CEOs often meddle is in sales. Of course we fancy ourselves as the best sales people in the company. And of course the VP of Sales had the ultimate call.

startup 339

startup board leadership culture 339

American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 28, 2025

The problem being solved must be big enough to justify investing in the solution and large enough to offer substantial market potential and investment returns. Clearly articulate who the problem impacts and why existing solutions are inadequate. Separate your solution from competitors in the market.

pitching 67

pitching investment investing startup 67

Entrepreneurs' Organization

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Integration: Finally, we fully embrace the change, optimizing processes and finding creative solutions to problems. Applying the Change Curve While Scaling My Business Like many founders, I started out wearing all the hats: sales, marketing, product development, and accounting. And, most importantly, I got in the right seat.

entrepreneurs 227

entrepreneurs consulting creativity entrepreneurship 227

Entrepreneurs' Organization

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

In her conversation with Kalika, she describes making the leap from working at a bank to co-founding an IT solutions business. She decided that learning computer coding and practicing her sales abilities were two steps toward that. Listen here. Heidi Golledge: As a child, Heid Golledge was determined to make money to help her family.

entrepreneurship 319

entrepreneurship entrepreneurs financing finance 319

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. I try to bring solutions when appropriate. Connections? In my experience 90% of VCs fall short on their promises of how helpful or not they can be with intros. I do a lot of listening.

VC 364

VC advice board leadership 364

American Entrepreneurship

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

We are proud to help creators grow their businesses – whether it’s helping creators access funding with a small working capital solution, or helping creators get paid in real-time to their debit card.” They monetize their work through app sales, subscriptions, or offering software as a service (SaaS).

collaboration 97

collaboration education media communities 97

Paul G. Silva

APRIL 1, 2025

The founder insisted he knew exactly what needed to be donemore features, more marketing materials, more sales calls. A Contrasting Example: When Task-Focus Fails Another startup I worked with initially resisted this framework. He executed flawlessly on his task list, checking items off efficiently. Six months later, he ran out of money.

frameworks 147

frameworks leadership coworking spaces coworking 147

American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 21, 2025

Your plan will include a marketing strategy that identifies the problem your product or service solves, the target market, what separates your solution from competitors, and other fundamentals the plan incorporates. Without a well-defined vision, you may lose direction or momentum in the face of challenges.

founder 98

founder peer-to-peer entrepreneurship strategy 98

Revolution

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

In response, brands are ruthlessly prioritizing results (or, at least, they should be) — especially when it comes to sales and marketing. Regardless of the strategy, drawing a clear line to ROI — to sales, topline growth, and lifetime value — is key. Away from most headless commerce. Headless commerce must have had a great PR person.

creativity 241

creativity sustainability enablement strategy 241

American Entrepreneurship

APRIL 3, 2025

The following business solutions will give you the essentials of implementing AI in your small business, answering common questions, while focusing on no-code solutions to daily tasks and complex issues that make the process accessible and straightforward. Design the Workflow: Use the platforms interface to map out the process.

culture 85

culture data collection enablement innovation 85

American Entrepreneurship

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Effective customer relationship management (CRM) helps you retain customers, increase sales, and improve customer satisfaction. To streamline small business operations, implementing a CRM tool can automate and organize customer interactions, making it easier to manage your business’s sales and support processes.

collaboration 110

collaboration media support accelerator 110

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'

peer-to-peer 341

peer-to-peer VC entrepreneurs support 341

Tomasz Tunguz

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

Many mid-market software companies price with the goal of revenue maximization, negotiating for the highest possible price in each sale. Penetration pricing leads to land-and-expand sales tactics. Salesforce sells CRM seats based on an aggregate ROI of increased sales productivity for example.

SaaS 113

SaaS strategy enablement startup 113

Dream It

MAY 13, 2020

The group discussed different healthtech topics including venture investment, trends, reducing burn, enterprise sales, and market performance, highlighted below. Enterprise Sales | Are health systems engaging with innovation right now? Enterprise Sales | Are health systems engaging with innovation right now?

health 195

health advice innovation incumbents 195

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 20, 2022

We asked EO members from various industries about the solutions and strategies they have implemented in response to these significant challenges. Brandon Bethke, EO Orange County, Vice President, Tempo Chemicals & Solutions. . Increased sales prices by 10-15 percent.”. Here’s what they shared: Take creative actions.

transportation 258

transportation mix-use creativity strategy 258

Jason Malki

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

In my previous venture, a 100% sales-led growth (SLG) cybersecurity company, we regularly secured $250K annual deals with large enterprises. Our sales and marketing costs were also quite high. There are 100s of point-solutions in the market to solve disparate pieces of this puzzle. But it wasn’t enough.

SaaS 52

SaaS strategy education innovation 52

American Entrepreneurship

MARCH 7, 2025

This is useful in marketing, sales forecasting, and financial planning. Sales & Lead Generation AI agents can identify potential leads, personalize outreach efforts, and optimize sales funnels for sales teams. Tidio Affordable chatbot and live chat solution for small businesses. HubSpot AI or Apollo.io

media 72

media support data analysis finance 72

American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 8, 2025

The third co-founder having a product design and marketing background dove into the human psychology of product marketing and sales. The CTO should be highly skilled in the technical aspects of the product, from software development to infrastructure, and be able to translate business ideas into practical solutions.

startup 98

startup culture entrepreneurship development 98

Dream It

JANUARY 8, 2020

This is what each of the five slides may include: First Slide: The “What” The first slide answers the question that puts entrepreneurs in action: What problem does your solution solve? If your solution is truly innovative, you won’t have to worry a great deal about direct competitors. Will you be hiring developers or sales people?

pitching 195

pitching opportunity board founder 195

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

However, the higher you get within an organization in the sale (and the larger the deal) executives are often looking to “win in the market,” which means growing revenue faster, offering products or services at a lower cost or offering features that their competitors can’t.

innovation 329

innovation creativity development advice 329

Entrepreneurs' Organization

MAY 17, 2024

Turning an idea into a sellable product takes grit, but limited budgets often require entrepreneurs to develop creative solutions that rely more on resourcefulness than cash. In 2024, creative funding solutions extend beyond personal savings or the support of friends and family.

creativity 211

creativity mentorship accelerator strategy 211

Dream It

DECEMBER 22, 2020

Mel Shakir , Securetech Managing Director with over 15 years of experience in bringing innovative cybersecurity solutions to market, is back to give his tips on product management. By “ready” Mel means that you should have managed and communicated the expectations of customers, executives, and sales teams.

strategy 195

strategy innovation culture development 195

American Entrepreneurship

APRIL 24, 2025

Fueling Expansion and Innovation Scamnetic plans to use its new funding to scale operations, with a focus on enhancing its marketing, sales, and customer support teams. This end-to-end solution has positioned the company as a category creator in digital safety. Building for the Future What sets Scamnetic apart is its holistic approach.

startup ecosystem 76

startup ecosystem SaaS accelerator education 76