Many tech executives would complete the sentence in the title above with something like “when you ship your first product”. Or “when you start your company”. Or “as soon as possible”. All have a similar meaning. Every tech company needs sales revenue and would like as large a hardware or software sales force as possible […]
Accessing Remote Software Markets
More often than not, software companies start off selling and marketing in their home market. This isn’t always the case, but it is true in the vast majority of cases. This occurs when a home market focus is intended to build an initial reference customer list of 10-20 customers, or lasts until the company establishes […]
Shadow IT in the Enterprise
If you’ve ever worked in a large corporation or been in the enterprise software or hardware business for any length of time, you’re familiar with the frustrations expressed by AND about the IT department. The IT department is typically the scorn of many folks who rely on them for the systems and support which allow […]
The Tech Company Equivalent of the Canary in the Mineshaft
For those puzzled by the title above, long ago, canaries were used in the mining industry as leading indicators of a looming catastrophe underground. When the canary was overcome by/died from dangerous levels of gas in the mine, things were about to get very bad. And it was time to get out. So what’s the comparable […]
Is a Strong Rolodex Important in Technology Businesses?
I always get this comment: “We’re looking for a VP-Sales/VP-Business Development/Sales Manager/Sales Rep with a strong Rolodex in the (pick your market segment) market”. I’m using “Rolodex” as a generic term for “contacts” since the advent of CRM software. But how important is a strong Rolodex really in the IT business? In my opinion, it’s […]
