Paul Kenny gave the single best talk about sales and software I have ever heard at Business of Software 2010. The Transcript of Paul Kenny's talk on sales: Neil Davidson : Our first speaker this morning is Paul Kenny. He may have started out in sales at Microsoft, say, or somewhere else. Please welcome Paul Kenny. MORE >>

IPO stands for Initial Public Offering, and is the first sale of a private stock to the public. An NDA, or Non-Disclosure Agreement, is an essential business acronym that often takes many forms. Business can be a dirty business. And the language of business can be hard to understand. Maybe double-check that contract. NOPAT. QA/QC. MORE >>

We’re testing a viral loop, direct sales, and affiliate marketing.&# Don’t Even Ask for an NDA This just makes me laugh. UPDATE: It is of course perfectly reasonable to ask for an NDA before giving away the super secret sauce. Here are just a few tips of things to avoid when trying to pitch someone. Names redacted.) MORE >>

If you haven’t charged anything, your attempts to engage the customer and find value are likely to be perceived as an aggressive sales annoyance rather than genuinely helpful.  Unfortunately my NDA prevents me from going into the specific details of what has happened with either company. Posted in Business models , Product/market fit. MORE >>

The initial hypothesis for Epiphany (from my much smarter partner Ben ) was that as departments in the enterprise (manufacturing, finance, customer support sales) became automated, the marketing department would eventually get its turn. We consciously didn’t ask potential customers to sign a  Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). MORE >>