Sales, Marketing, and Strategy
What Are The Keys To Successful Minimum Viable Products?
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). There’s a belief that it’s the right way to go if you develop an MVP because people are naturally going to buy your product. I want to debunk this idea right now. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help.…
Read MoreHow Do You Position Your Product Versus The Competition?
I’ve been watching a lot of Steve Jobs product launches for a project I’m working on. Jobs communication skills are beyond good. They are also utterly simple to copy. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] In every single product launch, Jobs follows a predictable script. It’s the same…
Read MoreThe Six Mistakes You’re Making To Not Get Customers
“How do you know your product is going to sell?” I asked “Joe,” the entrepreneur I was speaking with. “I just know it’s going to sell,” was Joe’s response. If you’re serious about raising your funding, join Zero to Pitch Gold now and get expert feedback on your pitch this week. “Have you spoken with…
Read MoreThe Right Way For You To Handle A Competitive Threat
When I worked at Maxim Integrated Products, we used to have our planning meetings over at the Peppermill restaurant in Cupertino. I think it’s gone now, but it was a great venue for us to meet at. If you’re serious about raising your funding, join Zero to Pitch Gold now and get expert feedback on…
Read MoreHow Fast Is Too Fast For Your Startup To Grow?
“We are going to grow our earnings by one penny per share per quarter,” Jack Gifford, Maxim Integrated Products founding CEO, regularly said to public market sell side analysts. And every quarter, like a clock, the company grew earnings at one penny per quarter or better. Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I…
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 and ChatGPT, 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…
Read MoreHow Do You Fix Your Revenue Forecast?
Of all the many things I got wrong when I started my company, my original revenue forecast was right at the top of my mistakes. Not only was my forecast off, it was off by a lot. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Instead of the $1 million…
Read MoreWhat Should You Never Do When You Start A Business?
My wife and I were going through old videos the other day, and we stumbled upon this video of Avery’s fourth birthday party at our house. I invited Nancy and her son Ethan to the party. Nancy used to work for me a couple years before that. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
Read MoreHow Do You Build An Innovative Startup?
James Carville, Bill Clinton’s chief strategist when Clinton ran for president in 1992 famously described their pitch to voters in one simple phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Clinton and Carville’s relentless focus on the economy. Clinton’s opponent, President George Bush, didn’t focus on the economy and he paid the price, losing to Clinton. [Do you…
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