Tag Archives: Appeal

What are the Basics of a One-Page Sales Plan? Four Points

Situation: A CEO wants a simple, one-page plan for her sales organization to help coordinate the company’s sales and marketing efforts. The objective is to boost revenue growth and market penetration with consistent sales messaging. What are the basics of a One-Page Sales Plan?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The key elements of construction are: research, identification of revenue sources, and construction of a Road Map.
  • Three Examples of a One-Page Sales Plan are:
    • The Customer Survey-based Sales Plan – Ask the top 15 customers what the company’s current share of wallet (SOW) looks like and what they need to do to gain additional SOW. Use the responses to identify additional revenue sources and construct the Road Map.
    • The Service Extension Sales Plan – Construct a grid representing the company’s products and services currently offered to potential customers – particularly the company’s top customers. Create a separate grid showing services that the company does not currently offer and ask customers what the company needs to do to make those services appealing to them. Use the information gained to construct the Road Map.
    • The Current and Potential Revenue Sales Plan – Construct a grid representing the customers and markets currently served and by what product or service. Look at additional customer markets not currently served. Estimate the size, new business closure rates, and the total potential market opportunity. Use the information gained to construct the Road Map.
  • The advantages of a One-Page Sales plan include:
    • One page simplifies the process.
    • Summary of current and new targets.
    • Easy to track and measure.
    • Increases the chance of success.
    • Key people get on the same page.
    • Filters out undesirable customers.
    • A plan that can be completed and implemented quickly, cost effectively with a high ROI.
  • Additional Observations:
    • The company’s principal challenge is prioritizing business opportunities. Creating an “Ideal Customer Profile” helps to produce the desired result.
    • The company has limited resources to invest in new projects. Using an effective, low-cost tool helps to maximize the impact of investment.
    • The ideal customer profile will change over time based on the business environment and the company’s long term goals.

What’s Your Exit Strategy – Both Timing and Price? Four Considerations

Situation: A CEO is considering an exit strategy for the company that she founded. The company has been very successful, and the CEO wants to optimize the value of the company on sale. She seeks advice on how to both maximize the company’s value and how to best prepare for a sale. What’s your exit strategy – both timing and price?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Value is tied to revenue and profit growth. Revenue growth is based on expansion of the customer base and reshaping the product offering to optimize its market appeal.
    • Consider a usage-based price for the offering. Accompany this with a range of usage offerings based on current customer use patterns.
    • Consider tiered pricing or pricing/use to access lower tiers of the market.
    • Consider bundled products, for example along with complementary products of another company with whom marketing partnerships could be formed.
  • As part of the valuation exercise, determine the best exit strategy and timing:
    • Identify the companies that could be buyers.
    • In each case, identify why they would buy the company.
    • The most compelling reason to purchase the company will be strategic, not financial.
    • Identify the key decision maker in each of the potential buyers.
    • Also identify any factors that would make the company less desirable to any potential acquirers and develop remedies for these.
    • This exercise may help to plan the timing and to understand more about the price that could be fetched.
  • To appeal to a buyer, optimize the organizational chart.
    • If the CEO occupies too many seats on the chart this presents a substantial risk to an acquirer if the founder leaves.
  • Evolve the organizational structure to support growth.
    • If there is no compelling reason to sell in the near term, then staff the company with professional marketing, financial talent, and so on.
    • A lack of talent in key positions limits both the company’s growth and its appeal to potential buyers.
    • In the case of this company, the most important hire will be in marketing. Note that marketing does not equal sales. The company is creating a market and convincing people to change their habits. This is a marketing task, not a sales task.
    • If the analysis of the factors mentioned above determines that now is time to sell, then stay slim.

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How Do You Monetize a New Venture? Eleven Suggestions

Situation: An entrepreneur has created a new business offering a critical service but struggles with how to monetize it. The primary clients don’t have the resources to fund it viably. What alternative sources of funds or revenue can be found? How do you monetize a new venture?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The venture’s brand name must carry the message – the name must describe the mission.
  • One of the core messages is reciprocity. Reinforce this theme all over the site.
  • Testimonials are critical. Testimonial videos of real users personalize the experience. These drive participant acquisition and contributions.
  • Make participants feel like they are a part of a community.
    • Consider a variety of landing pages – same database but different doors of entry.
    • Encourage even more communication within specific target communities.
  • Look at MySpace vs. Facebook to guide the model:
    • MySpace was already big when Facebook launched.
    • Facebook exploded by making itself a more closed community – all exclusive colleges and Universities.
    • Monetize via donation or advertising vs. subscription. Fees could kill the opportunity. Too many other resources are available for free.
  • The key appeal is enabling people to do something that makes them feel good.
    • Post stories from those who have succeeded as a result of the platform, as well as those who have helped on the site. This will inspire others to participate.
  • How do you recruit new participants?
    • Some CEOs joined LinkedIn because of peer pressure – after enough people asked them to join, they did.
    • Install a template to encourage people to invite new participants – allow new participants to tell their story and the need that the service fulfills for them.
  • Consider adding premium content to the site, but only for those who have made contributions – monetary or in-kind.
  • Consider Fremium to Premium. In the Fremium model include a banner ad for users, like a university Training Institute.
  • Consider creating an advice network. Post questions and ask for answers from the community. Include an option to click to become a contributing participant.
  • Online there are eyeballs vs. action – the action is what matters.

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How Do You Raise Cash Short Term? Seven Suggestions

Situation: A CEO has identified a new business opportunity that looks promising but will require raising additional cash short term. What are good sources of short term cash, and what will simplify access to these resources? How do you raise cash short term?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • You must be the biggest critic of this opportunity. If it doesn’t fly to your critical eye, it will be hard to sell to others. As a reality check, ask yourself whether the opportunity is something on which you’d bet your house.
  • Build the new capability around a web distribution system that compliments your other capabilities. This broadens the appeal of the offer.
  • Generate an investment proforma and revenue stream. Most investors or debt financers will want to see this. You can position it as an immature business plan backed by your best estimate of the numbers.
  • You’ll need a business plan unless you’re lucky enough to find someone who believes that you can turn any opportunity into gold.
  • Presell subscriptions to target clients to prove the value of the offer – both to you and for investors.
  • Assure that any payments due from you go into an escrow account, to be released on a quarterly or other phased basis pending performance from the other parties within this deal.
  • This is not a venture capital story. Angel investors will seek a lower return for lower risk than VCs. Set some milestones for the Angels that will help them to see that you are monitoring their risk.

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