Questions regarding selling products to both new and existing customers of the business.
1
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4answers
199 views
bootstrapped startup needs to be creative about “enaging” with out of house expertise
Fanciful title really translates in simple English as this:
We are (read I am) a bootstrapped, cash strapped startup and I need to employ the services of outsite experts but want to a). minimise any ...
4
votes
3answers
87 views
First time selling indirect, need advice!
I am slowly starting to sell our software through resellers and distributors (one man shops all to way to major Software distributors.)
Given my lack of experience, I am wondering what details are ...
2
votes
3answers
93 views
How to market and distribute an app targeted to small retailers
In the planning stage of building an app with a monthly subscription element targeted to small business merchants having 1 - 10 retail venues.
Looking for any advice on a go to market strategy to ...
0
votes
4answers
278 views
How to hire sales rep? [closed]
What site would you recommend to add posting?
Any specialty site that would be better for jewelry sales rep?
What template should I use for the contract if any?
1
vote
3answers
317 views
What should I look for in a business development / account manager
We are a software development house that has a specific target of maintaining and extending existing systems for mid sized companies. We work with them to evolve what they have and improve each aspect ...
4
votes
3answers
169 views
How does one judge the merits of an idea?
I'm at the Imagine Cup Finals, and I'm getting to see lots of students' projects, and lots of ideas. For competitions like that, there are of course a set of objectives that are slated as part of the ...
2
votes
3answers
348 views
What is standard marketing practice for a niche SAAS product?
My product solves a known problem for a specific industry and I am wondering how best to sell this. Eventhough it is a SAAS based product, our leads won't come online to search for this type of ...
1
vote
2answers
266 views
Obtaining new clients through email marketing
Right now I'm sitting behind my desk at a top 100 company, and quite frankly I started to hate my corporate job. I feel like it is killing my soul everyday.
I have always dreamed of owning my ...
0
votes
1answer
396 views
Business Models for High-Price Mobile Apps
What business models exist for mobile applications beyond the AppStores that are run by the platform owner (Apple, Google)?
The standard business model seems to be low priced apps in 3 segments ...
1
vote
2answers
95 views
Nurturing new “almost” clients? How persistent to be? Sales / Account Management Course?
I've been working as a freelance developer for 10 years or so now, taking on projects and resourcing them with myself and other developers. All has been fine, but over the last 6 months I've been ...
1
vote
1answer
255 views
Android Market and SaaS. Is there problem?
I'm working on industry specific software. Basic idea is that I have big fat server somewhere, some web app. and mobile clients.
Now I started to think about legal parts of this model.
Reading ...
1
vote
2answers
446 views
Open-Source / Free Live Website Chat - for customer service / sales
I was wondering if anyone has come across a free / open-source website chat? I'm interested in something similar to oLark or Live Person, without the monthly fee's...
Has anyone ever come across ...
0
votes
1answer
97 views
Any Good Books on Building a Strong Sales Force?
I have a few subscription based services which have grown consistently though affiliates and resellers. I want to get a strong sales force going.
Do you have any books, training, blogs, etc. that ...
2
votes
1answer
216 views
How to sell software tools to developers?
I have Windows desktop tools for developers. I have a few large companies that bought them. It is mostly project managers that did the buying and so far they found me via Google search(I have done a ...
1
vote
4answers
491 views
What is a good structure/organization of a reliable marketing and sales team?
I am a co-founder of a startup company. We sell market data and analysis reports to manufacturers. Our reports have fairly high value, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands dollars. ...
1
vote
3answers
490 views
Is this a fair partnership proposal?
I am the technical founder of a software product, the product is finished with good inputs from at least 6 to be customers. My to be Sales partner who is already helping me from the past 4 weeks ...
1
vote
1answer
190 views
Outsourcing sales calls for online business
I am about to acquire a US online dropshipping business.
Most orders require the clients to fill out a detailed contact form and then a sales person calls them back to close the configuration and ...
2
votes
1answer
156 views
Where do Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) hang out?
We are launching a new quoting software product targeted at ISVs, but don't know where to find them. I won't include the link as I don't want to seem spammy, but it's in my profile if you want to ...
3
votes
2answers
89 views
How do you manage sales of your phone apps on different platforms?
everyone
I am developing phone apps and would like to introduce them on AppWorld, and later on, sell them on another platforms too. Since I'm a new developer, I need your help. How do you guys ...
0
votes
1answer
129 views
How to get desktop research tool distributed?
We are in the process of creating a desktop research tool, which will provide snappy access to a wide range of information.
Conceptually, this tool is similar to Babylon. How would you go about ...
1
vote
1answer
233 views
Sales quoting - what tools do you use to generate and manage quotes, and how much time do you spend? [closed]
I am curious what tools people are using out there to generate and manage their sales quotes. I would like to better understand the market for our online quoting system.
Where do most of your leads ...
4
votes
6answers
511 views
Good books on sales for non-sales people? [closed]
I'm looking for a good intro book on Sales done the right way.
Focusing on the customer's needs and problems.
Low-pressure selling.
Being willing to disqualify a customer.
Basically, my sales ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Sales commission for SAAS startups
We are a SAAS startup with an average MRR of $300. We are planning to have both in-house and outside sales agents (without salary but 20-30% commission). What is the sales commission model you ...
6
votes
2answers
189 views
My sales person (independent, not employee) wants to be an angel investor
I started a surveillance technology company in May 2010. Since the beginning, we have been working with a person that has been in the security industry for quite a while. He was providing some input, ...
1
vote
2answers
61 views
What are the best magazines to put an ad seeking for sales&marketing bus. partner on commission basis?
My company developed and validated highly innovative water purification products for residential and commercial applications. What are the best magazines to put an ad seeking for sales&marketing ...
2
votes
2answers
118 views
Sales and Marketing Co-founder-Ivy League MBA or Industry Expert?
I am working on a software product, which is going to revolutionize a specific industry. I checked with couple of top guys in this industry and they are all impressed. It is a billion dollar problem. ...
4
votes
3answers
321 views
What should be my first step to building a technical team for a start up?
I expect a large scale software project to come in which must be delivered successfully for us to get more business. I don't have enough in house resources to accomodate this project but I do have ...
1
vote
1answer
148 views
Advertising with buysellads.com
Anyone used buysellads.com? Do you recommend this provider or do you know of a better one? If so, why is it better than buysellads.com?
3
votes
1answer
117 views
Best Strategy for moving into the US / Canadian market from Australia
The background
I represent a small Australian software developer. We have been working with our clients over here for 9 years on a product suite which is a worlds first for the targeted industry.
...
2
votes
2answers
213 views
How Can I Estimate How Many Software Sales My Competitors are Getting?
I'm in a field with several hundred competitors, a few big, some medium, but most are small ISVs.
Are there any tools out there that will help estimate how my competitors are doing in terms of sales ...
5
votes
1answer
95 views
How a company that uses a website like groupon calculates the minimum items they need to sell?
I have the intention of giving a try at one of those group buy like businesses that you can get prepared for you and start selling in your neighborhood or village. I understand, how the hold idea ...
3
votes
3answers
549 views
Show competitors prices on e-commerce site, legal issues?
I am starting an ecommerce site selling electronics in the UK. I belive I can compete with price against others in this field, and was considering have a 'price compare' table on the product pages ...
4
votes
2answers
138 views
Startup giving away product early or hold out?
So we are a SaaS model new recruitng tool and weve been trying to acquire our first couple of major deals. I read alot of books on starting up and have advised start ups my whole career. At first we ...
0
votes
2answers
87 views
Pricing. Do you think USD120/Day is a reasonable rate for an English-Chinese translator in Mainland China? [closed]
When you need a translator to accompany you to factories, what rate do you think is reasonable for an English-Chinese translator in Mainland China?
3
votes
2answers
869 views
Building a Sales “Deck”
Guy Kawasaki in Art of the Start talks about having two decks, an investor pitch deck and also a sales deck. Have you found this to be useful? I'm about to go pitch to 2 - 3 potential customers as ...
2
votes
5answers
266 views
Possible To Sell Product To Current Employer?
I have an idea for productivity software that would be very beneficial to my current company (and to me in my current role). My current role involves no software development at all (I'm working for a ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
'active affiliate' program for direct sales
I would like to hear people opinion about outsourcing direct sales to affiliates.
We expect our affiliates to do cold calls to prospects and close deals, we will do the actual delivery and provide ...
1
vote
2answers
420 views
Commission for in-house sales activity
I'm joining a software startup as a (co-founding) CTO. I am also bringing my industry contacts into the venture, and will be the only person taking initiative on business development. My contacts are ...
2
votes
1answer
183 views
What is a fair amount to pay for consulting referrals?
I'm an independent software consultant who is looking for referrals.
I've come to the conclusion that perhaps I should pay for them and earlier today posted this question about a teired commision ...
4
votes
4answers
171 views
Should I offer a site tour on my home page?
In the not so distant future, I will be launching a site that is mostly for businesses and is largely Software as a Service. I am wondering what you think about the pros and cons of having a pretty ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Is this teired commission schedule for referrals fair?
I'm an independent software consultant who is looking for referrals.
I've paid for referrals before and have noticed that sometimes I was happy with the price and sometimes I was not. For example, ...
12
votes
2answers
362 views
Sales pipelines. Should you only have 1 in a B2B software development company?
So you understand our scope: We are a custom software development company who have 2 primary markets
Mid sized companies who have ongoing internal needs for automation
...
7
votes
5answers
2k views
How do I price my expensive software and charge $100,000 in a presentable way?
We have a software product that increases productivity of engineers and allows them to build/prototype new products. It costs $25,000 to use it for 3 months. A big name company is interested. How do I ...
3
votes
2answers
97 views
Should we target large customers with our software localization platform?
For the last 15 months we've been working hard to build a cloud-based platform that helps companies localize the software they build (named Amanuens). It all started from our own needs and we decided ...
3
votes
1answer
87 views
Hiring Specialized Sales Reps
Say you had a tech product that could be applicable to a various verticals like Healthcare, Financial, Education, Insurance, Manufacturing, etc... and you decided to ramp up your sales. Would you ...
1
vote
4answers
292 views
What incentives can I give business customers to sell my product to their network?
I have treated my first few business customers of my software product very well. They are senior managers of medium sized companites. My problem is that I cannot get them to sell my product in their ...
3
votes
3answers
272 views
Can you outsource sales for high tech companies?
Following on from my previous question about outsourced marketing can you outsource sales effort as well in b2b senarios?
Once marketing has brought in a qualified lead someone has to get the over ...
2
votes
1answer
219 views
retail point of sale software
Does anyone know what Point of Sale software that large retailers in the US (from Macys to CVS to Bestbuy) use?
What do you suggest for a person with a brand new idea in a better point of sale ...
3
votes
5answers
152 views
What if you didn't START lean?
I have successfully launched a startup. It is a niche school management system for Montessori Schools. It's profitable but doesn't produce a lot of income (translated: can't quit my day job). My ...
5
votes
3answers
136 views
Doing demos for unqualified leads
I get a lot of leads and I only want to do demos for qualified people. By qualified, they have to have access to $100k or more in capital.
Before, I was putting them in our sandbox (software), but ...
