Version One Ventures
SEPTEMBER 17, 2013
Selling into this market requires the traditional enterprise sales approach, comprised of a large ‘boots on the ground’ field sales team that works with key decision makers (e.g. These are long sales cycles, often with multiple departments and stakeholders involved. CTO, VP of HR) in the customer organization.
A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks
NOVEMBER 5, 2014
It’s often said that you shouldn’t talk about price during customer development interviews. Marketing and sales spend is nil, so there has to be a reason it spreads by word of mouth, ideally virally as a natural result of using the product itself. $10/mo simple enough to be self-service). Think: GoDaddy).
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Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 19, 2009
There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. I had planned a balance of large companies and SMB/divisional sales but have changed my thinking. Reasons: cost of sales executives, long sales cycles, deep functional requirements. Folksonomy.
www.forentrepreneurs.com
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
As I ask questions to understand the thinking, what usually comes out is something vague along the lines of web marketing, and/or viral growth with no numbers attached. A quick look around all the B2C startups shows that, although viral growth is often hoped for, in reality it is extremely rare.
Version One Ventures
MAY 30, 2013
For startups, the message is that you should develop your business in the long tail, focusing on those customers in your market that the incumbents don’t care about. In addition, by focusing on selling to smaller companies in the long tail, you’ll benefit from shorter sales cycles.
YoungUpstarts
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
Although it would be great to see sales cycles much shorter, it’s understandable about the care some organizations take in choosing a partner that will represent their brand on the very visible social media front. Content doesn’t have to “go viral” to benefit your business.
Hippoland
AUGUST 8, 2018
As always, there are exceptions: if you build a viral consumer product (such as an Instagram) where people are just coming to your site / app in droves at no cost to you, then you’ve got a great business. Sales cycles matter though. Sales cycle, as a consideration, also works the opposite way. Product second.
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