Sales 2.01
Sales 2.01 addresses some additional thoughts on the Sales 2.0 conference, the focus is on enabling customer self-service
Customer Development
The Limits of Customer Relationship Management Systems
Customer relationship management is enabled by authentic human connection: conversation, hand crafted replies, and other person to person communication.
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Other Customer Development Models
In “The Challenges of Measuring Non-Existent Markets” Scott D. Anthony outlines four principal challenges in measuring non-existent markets: Data does not yet exist. When a market doesn’t exist, there are no baseline market research reports or time-series data sets to analyze. Lack of comparable products. Without existing data, there is a natural tendency to look
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Cultivating Communities to Get More Customers
Attracting new customers is at the heart of every business. Active participation in a community can make you more visible and allows you to demonstrate expertise.
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In the Beginning…the Founders are the Business
The closing slide in our Idea to Revenue Workshop says In The Beginning…The Founders Are The Business. To Keep The Business Viable, Learn Faster Than the Competition. Successful Entrepreneurship Is a Self-Improvement Project.
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Customer Development for a Consulting Practice in a Downturn
What follows are some real questions I have answered either face to face or in e-mail over the last 90 days in response to the current downturn in Silicon Valley. Customer Development for a Consultants in a Downturn Q: I just completed my first two years of consulting–which were spectacular–after 20+ years of full time
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3 Tips for Developing User Community Sites
After blogging about how “User Communities are Critical for Complex Products” two days ago I thought I would offer some quick tips on how to get started: Be clear on the benefits to the members. So many social networking groups are very clear on how members bring benefit to a user site, but not very
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User Communities Are Critical For Complex Products
User communities are not just a low cost way to market and support your product, they are essential to complex technology products.
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Steve Blank on Customer Development at TiE Wed-Sep-17-2008
I had the pleasure of attending Steve Blank’s talk on “Customer Development for Startups” on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at TiE and I wanted to offer some pointers both to content he referenced and some related information on Customer Development.
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Herb Reiter Interview on Fostering Static Timing Analysis Adoption
Herb Reiter Interview on Fostering Static Timing Analysis Adoption I have followed Herb Reiter’s consulting career over the last five years or so: there aren’t very many business development consultants who work with EDA firms, fewer who have the mix of semiconductor and design background that Herb accumulated on the way to honing his business
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90-day Plan for Blogging from “Getting More Customers” Workshop
One of the strategies we cover in our Getting More Customers workshops is blogging. Below is a 90-plan developed by a workshop attendee last year, anonymized and presented with permission. Actual implementation took more than 90 days but he has been blogging for a little less than a year and has 60 blog posts that
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“Better” is the Enemy of “Good Enough”
Better is the enemy of good enough–This phrase is attributed to Sergey Gorshkov, the commander in chief of the Soviet Navy from 1956 to 1985, who managed it’s dramatic expansion during the Cold War. Perfectionists get this wrong, siding with “Better.” Entrepreneurs who prosper, for the most part, side with “Good Enough” and keep improving.
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You Have Five Minutes: Practice
Be ready when a busy customer asks you to summarize your startup in five minute. This is the normal limit for a long intro. Please practice.
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You are a Doctor not a Salesperson
Act like a doctor not a traditional high-pressure salesperson. Diagnose before you prescribe and always act with integrity.
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“Now What? Your Post Launch Growth Plan” Podcast and Transcript
Adapted from a presentation on “Now What? Your Post Launch Growth Plan” at the KASE Entrepreneur Seminar on October 16, 2007.
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Paul Graham’s Six Principles for Making New Things
This article compares Paul Graham’s “Six Principles for Making New Things” with Bob Bemer’s “Do Something Small But Useful Now”, Gary Hamel’s Innovation Hacker, and Peter Drucker’s list of seven places to search systematically for opportunities.
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Focus On Your Prospect’s Pain Not The Brilliance of Your Product Idea
Many entrepreneurs find themselves in the grip of an idea, captivated by its seeming brilliance. But success comes from understanding a prospect’s pain.
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HP’s Early Customers Came From Fred Terman’s Social Network
HP produced its first brochure and sent it to a list of about 25 potential customers provided by Fred Terman. Orders soon came in from early customers.
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Steve Blank on Customer Development Process for Startups
I was an early fan of Steve Blank’s customer development model. This post was written when “Four Steps to the Epiphany” was only available on Cafe Press and documents the early set of principles he espoused.
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Fostering Technology Adoption: Early Customers & Early Revenue
Software companies typically have to convince prospects to adopt new technologies based on their shared history, their service track record, and their ability to accurately predict and deliver real results that overcome the cost and friction of adopting new tools and methodologies. There are a number of lessons we draw on to help startups fostering
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