Sales, Marketing, and Strategy
What Do You Do When You Lose A Deal?
“Nest designed us out of their final production build,” John, our Bay Area Sales Manager, said to me. “Thanks for everything you did to trying to win this,” I said. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I took a deep breath. I didn’t like losing, and we had…
Read MoreThe Right Way To Get The Lean Startup To Work
The concept of the lean startup has really always been part of the startup vocabulary. Long before it was made popular and the book was written, many entrepreneurs were following the basic concepts of the lean startup. The concept is simple and logical to follow: Essentially, you just: Develop the simplest version of your product…
Read MoreHow Do You Reduce Risk As A Startup CEO?
I don’t why, but years ago, when I was in high school, my Dad got involved in a business building replicas of old classic cars. As I remember it, the company bought old VW? engines, put a classic car chassis around them and sold the cars at a profit. Do you want to grow your…
Read MoreShould You Focus On Product Quantity Or Quality?
“That sounds like death by one thousand cuts,” Rob, the VC I was pitching to said to me. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. I had just told Rob that the average customer would buy $10,000 per year of our products and that the average product would sell…
Read MoreShould You Grow As Fast As Your Investors Want?
“Don’t worry, Brett. We’ll support you,” “Raul”, one of our investors, said to me in our board of directors meeting. Raul wanted us to go faster than I had originally planned for. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. And Raul meant what he said. He was, in that…
Read MoreShould You Focus On Profits Or Providing Value First?
One of the greatest lessons I ever got in business was from my mom. She began her career as a successful writer. Then, when my brother and I entered middle school, my mom pivoted and began selling homes in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
Read MoreHow Do Early Stage Startups Get Their First 10 Customers?
I am really excited to share with you how do early stage startups get their first 10 customers. Now, your first 10 customers may not seem like a lot, but when you’re starting, and you have zero customers, 10 customers is a huge number. Over the past five years, I’ve worked directly with over one…
Read MoreHow To Validate Your Startup Idea In 7 Steps
Wouldn’t it be great if you could validate your startup idea in less than one hour because you absolutely, positively have to validate your startup idea? Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. There are seven steps that you need to take to validate your startup idea. And I’m…
Read MoreHow Do You Learn How To Sell?
“You’ve figured it out,” I said smiling to “Vern”, an engineer turned CEO that I’ve been working with. Since we started working together, I’ve been urging Vern to drive sales himself. Yet, until this conversation, he resisted my suggestion. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. Vern sells enterprise…
Read MoreHow Do You Do Market Research For Your Startup?
Back in the day, long before the internet, I would drive over to Stanford University to do my market research. The business school had a really nice library where I could find just about everything I wanted. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here. This would be my ritual…
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