In the NETSEA Knowledge Bank, senior technology executives will find a reference resource that includes professional publications, presentations, reviews and helpful web sites. NETSEA also posts copies of the presentations from meetings and events here as well.
While some Knowledge Bank resources are available to the general community, eventually most of the content will be restricted to NETSEA members only. If you are not currently a NETSEA member and would like membership information, please go to our membership page .
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PRESENTATION CONTENT FROM NETSEA EVENTS
NETSEA is committed to providing its members with information and resources to impact business decisions and skills. Each meeting is designed to impart knowledge, as well as, to provide opportunity for networking with other members. On a quarterly basis, we will post the presentation content from meetings and events, in case a meeting is missed or attendees would like to refer back to the information for business purposes.
Some of these resources are compressed (zip) files - most computers have a zip extractor installed, but if you do not have one, you can download one for free at here .
Growing Your Company without Tearing It Apart – February, 2006 Sales, Marketing and Business Development Leaders explore how to best evolve and expand product offerings while maintaining company success. Keynote speaker, Mark Johnson, Co-Founder and President of Innosight (formerly w/ Booz Allen) and panelists Ken Bisconti, vice president, product management, IBM Software Group,
Ian Finley, former vice president of marketing, Formation Systems, Stuart M. Itkin, vice president of marketing, Kronos Incorporated and Brian Murphy , vice president of sales and service, Nexaweb Technologies, Inc. discussed the unique challenges posed by new product development and market growth opportunities.
With each new product release, you face complex challenges regarding sales force deployment, marketing messages, product management allocations and service models.
Coordination : How do you integrate sales and marketing into one consistent effort?
Continuity: How do you reach new target markets while satisfying current customers?
Communications: How do you promote your new offers without undermining sales for older products?
Control: How do you keep product management and service operations in line with accelerating marketing and sales objectives?
IDC Executive Briefing: Research-based Benchmarks, Trends, and Best Practices in IT Sales and Marketing- Oct, 2005
According to IDC research, only one out of ten IT sales organizations met or exceeded their revenue targets last year. What are they - and you - going to do to improve sales and marketing in 2006? IDC experts Donald MacDonald and Rich Vancil - and a panel of four high-tech sales and marketing executives - explore the top-level strategies and investments being tested today.
Positioning Value with Customers - More Than Meets the Eye- May, 2005
Most companies place the burden of becoming more value-based or solution-focused on the sales apparatus of the organization. In fact multiple millions of selling professionals have received formal training in some form of solution, value, or customer oriented sales curriculum. While this training can clearly improve sales proficiency and help sales people better articulate and position value with customers, industry studies suggest that efforts to improve "sales people" may have hit the wall. This presentation explores the four "revenue engine" transformations that companies need to make in order to raise the sales performance ceiling.
Q4 is Already Over: Increasing Sales & Marketing Productivity - October, 2004
Companies perpetually continue to encounter several issues in the area of sales forecasting and executing to hit the numbers. Your company's confidence in the "forecast" erodes at a rate which is inversely proportional to the number of days left in the period. Increased degrees of difficulty to make quarterly numbers often leads to "stealing" from next quarter's pipeline ... at a discount. It appears as though each quarter some "heroics" are necessary to "close" enough business to make the number. Pressure on results and execution increases with each close quarter end. In determining how to address these issues, it is important to first get a clear understanding of the culture of your company. We often talk about companies as being engineering driven versus a market driven. An increasingly more important question is whether or not the company is revenue driven or sales driven. Is your company's answer to the above challenges always "execution"?
Going International - When and How to Do It - July, 2004
Going International too late can cause you to miss the boat on great opportunities - are your competitors already making headway in some of these markets? Perhaps without your knowledge? But going International too early can also cause a company to lose focus if it's not ready to do so yet. If you're already executing on an International strategy, this session will help you make sure you get the most out of it. And if you haven't yet defined an International strategy, this session will help you shape it.
Compensation Trends in Sales, Marketing and BD - May, 2004
One of the most interesting (and scary) statistics is that approximately 70% of the current workforce has indicated that they would be interested in other job opportunities should an appropriate one come along. Until recently this has not translated into much because the number of good opportunities has been fairly limited due to a sluggish economy. But the economy is changing, and work by McKinsey & Company as well as others indicates that the underlying trend reveals a significant shortage in top talent over the next decade. In this highly interactive session with an esteemed set of experts in the area of high-tech compensation, we covered the hot topics in compensation for Sales, Marketing, & Business Development professionals.
What's In a Number? Metrics to Drive Sales & Marketing - Feb, 2004
Sales... it's all about the numbers...the number of people you talk to...the number of people that you meet with...the number of people that become customers...the amount of money you receive from each customer...the length of time you keep a customer. Marketing... it's all about the numbers...your market share...the number of times a prospect sees your company name...the cost of identifying a new suspect...the number of suspects and prospects in your prospect database...how many times you've touched each of them. This set of presentations from 4 esteemed panelists provides some great insight into leverages metrics to drive results in sales and marketing.
The "State" of High Tech in Massachusetts, House Speaker Thomas Finneran - Nov, 2003
The technology "bust" throughout the last several years has been prominent in the minds of everyone in our industry. Because of the economic crisis that has effected all of us responsible for "selling & marketing" in technology companies, NETSEA has engaged our "Thought Leaders" in State Government to understand their perspective on our industry, where we've been, where we are today, prospects for growth and proposed initiatives. To that end, The Honorable Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Thomas Finneran will be leading us in an interactive discussion on the state of high technology in Massachusetts. The Speaker will be discussing how through wise investment and regulatory overhaul, emerging technologies can be the vehicle that helps to bring the entire Massachusetts economy back into prosperity, providing our families financial security and giving the state the revenues necessary to fully fund the programs and services upon which we all rely
Corporate Gov., What's in it for Me?, B.Schnoor, Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault - Sept, 2003
The pressure is on for generating revenue while the economic climate continues to be tough, but now there is an additional challenge. Sweeping changes in corporate governance, the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors and auditors, and accounting principles have profoundly altered the landscape on which Sales Organizations are expected to turn prospects into leads into revenue. Although many of these changes purport to apply only to public companies, in fact they are also shaping the way that auditors and potential acquirers are interacting with private companies. Accordingly, executives of private companies who ignore these changes do so at their own peril. Bottom line: the rules have changes, the stakes are higher, and Sales and Business Development executives are on the front lines where regulatory reforms meet the realities of running a business, day in and day out.
Making Partnerships Pay, Prof. Ben Gomes-Casseres, May, 2003
As companies cut their operations to the bone, they will come to rely more and more on partners to execute a part of their business solution. That is why outsourcing, collaboration with suppliers, and market-entry alliances remain critical business strategies, even while frivolous deal-making has declined. But the stakes in these new alliances are even higher than before. We know that traditionally one- to two-thirds of alliances fail. This presentation brings together a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with you on making partnerships pay.
Integrating Sales & Marketing, Mike Bosworth, February, 2003
In a tough market, companies cannot afford to have internal challenges such as frictions between Sales and Marketing. But aligning Sales and Marketing is not an easy task - these organizations often been at odds for as long as most of us can remember. When revenue goals are falling short, Marketing often complains that Sales is not doing a good job closing the leads that they are given, and Sales complains that Marketing is generating junk leads.
The Marketing Perspective, Aligning Sales Compensation, January, 2002
This presentation from Ed Gaudet from Iona covers the marketing perspective on aligning sales compensation. It describes how marketing incentives can also be tied to sales - in particular for those groups within marketing that are tasked with generating and developing high quality leads.
ROI, CRM & Other Bed Time Stories, October 18, 2001
Companies are increasingly requiring ROI analyses before pursuing any major initiatives, including CRM initiatives. However, getting involved in traditional analyses of ROI can lead to a trap of complex analyses and questionned assumptions. In this meeting, Barry Trailer from Sales Mastery presented some alternative approaches to highlighting the ROI from a CRM investment - approaches that are simpler to understand, and more convincing to upper management. Barry Trailer has consulted with companies with complex B2B sales for the past twenty years. He spent nearly nine years with Miller-Heiman, consulted throughout the 90's in sales process, and with his partners started a software company which was acquired by FrontRange Solutions (formerly GoldMine Software Corporation). With FrontRange he served as VP of North American Sales, VP of Corporate Initiatives (focusing on ROI) and finally, acting as President of the GoldMine Division. He is now founder and president of Sales Mastery, Inc., an independent sales consultant in Colorado Springs.
The demand for informative business books is strong among business executives. On a quarterly basis, NETSEA will publish reviews on books about sales, marketing and business development on this site. Suggestions for listed books can be submitted by members.
To submit a book recommendation for the site, please identify the category in the subject line (Sales, Marketing or Business Development) and send an email to recommendedreading@netsea.org , along with a line or two as to why you found the book to be valuable.
List of Recommended Books
CustomerCentric Selling By: by Michael Bosworth, John Holland
The most difficult task in selling--and the number one key to success--is to get inside the head of your buyer. CustomerCentric Selling presents a dynamic process for first understanding and shaping your buyers' concerns, then helping those same buyers visualize using your offering to achieve goals, solve problems, or satisfy needs.
Samurai Selling : The Ancient Art of Service in Sales By: Bockman, Laughlin, Sage (Contributor)
Samuarai Selling gets to the core of sales: getting to a "win-win" by delivering real value to your customers. Many people comment that they read this book over and over each year, and every year, they learn something new from it.
Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets By: Michael T. Bosworth
Solution Selling provides an excellent methodology for placing emphasis on business issues rather than product. It provides detailed insight on how to understand the problems of the company and individual, and how to propose solutions that map to these problems.
The Power to Get in By: Michael A. Boylan
Getting in to see the right people, in the shortest amount of time is the key. The methods in this book are a very effective and efficient way to flush out customers. Sales reps need to get in quickly and at the right levels. This book will help your sales team to get in, do their presentation and let the customer decide. Not all customers will buy your products or services, but at least you be able to present what you do or what you sell to the core group of people who can make those decisions.
Seller's Edge By: William Porter
The Seller's Edge works in conjunction with sales methodologies to provide that extra edge for winning deals. This book provides an explanation of the six different types of buyers - showing how to identify them, how to sell to them, and when to walk away from the deal. Some people may question the core assumption that each buyer fits into one and only one category, but even then the book provides a valuable tool to help identify the buying characteristics, determine which ones are the most prominent for specific customers, and plan an appropriate course of action.
Selling to VITO By: Anthony Parinello
This book lays out some practical and powerful approaches for getting in front of the "Very Important Top Officer." For companies who have mastered their value proposition and are looking to get it in front of the right executives, this is a terrific resource. However, the methods are only as valuable as your last successful sale and your ability to quantify that value for a prospective customer executive. Provided that you're able to do this, the book provides tremdenous value to help you get in front of the right executives to make the sale happen.
PowerSkills- Building Top-Level Relationships for Bottom-Line Results By: James P. Masciarelli
Building and maintaining top-level relationships is critical for personal and business success. PowerSkills demonstrates how professionals at every level can grow their Relationship Capital to produce spectacular business results and provides the insight and the "how to" ideas for investing in the success of others to get them invested in your success. Based on interviews with over 10,000 executives, and on the author's own successful business practices, PowerSkills will provide you with a proven SYSTEM and five core skills: positioning, hunting, coaching, leading and farming to help you build relationships with decision-makers, influencer and stakeholders.
Marketing High Technology : An Insider's View By: William H. Davidow
This book portrays marketing as civilized warfare - as high-tech products become increasingly, it is marketing that spells life or death for new devices or entire firms. Davidow draws on his successful marketing experience at Intel Corporation to create a complete program for marketing victory. He drives home the basics, such as how to go head-on against the competition; how to "plan products, not devices"; how to give products a "soul"; and how to engineer promotions, market internationally, motivate sales, and rally channel partners.
Mastering Alliance Strategy James Bamford, Benjamin Gomes-Casseres, Michael Robinson
Business development and sales expansion today often involve working closely with other companies. "Mastering Alliance Strategy" presents state-of-the-art thinking and practices for using such partnerships effectively. The book describes models used by dozens of companies and contains work from over fifteen contributors from business, academia, and consulting. It provides insights on the fundamentals of planning, negotiating, and governing an alliance, as well as advice on how to develop powerful networks of partners and build world-class alliance capabilities.
Software Product Management Essentials Alyssa Dver
Software Product Management Essentials is a hands-on guide to help new product managers sift through the numerous tasks and responsibilities involved in this pinnacle job. It provides a framework for the role of the product manager in an environment where there are few resources available to help in tackling the many things needed for a quality, on-time delivery of software. The book offers numerous tips and example best practices to help even experienced product managers.
10 Secrets of Time Management for SalesPeople Dave Kahle
10 Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople presents time tested--and workable--time management guidelines specific to sales and selling. The book details how to create useful systems, prioritize workflow, and plan effectively. The book also distills processes and tools into easily applied steps that helps readers better balance the unique demands of selling with their personal lives.
Creative Business Presentations: Inventive Ideas for Making an Instant Impact Eleri Sampson, Philip Sadler
This book is filled with tested ideas about how to create presentations full of life and impact--including how to use verbal, visual, and aural cues to their greatest effect. Readers will also learn how to control presentation jitters, and how to prepare appropriately for any--and all--business presentations.
Sales Promotion: How to Create, Implement, and Integrate Campaigns that Really Work Julian Cummins, Roddy Mullin
Sales promotions can be an effective sales tool if conceptualized--and implemented--correctly. This book walks readers through the basics of sales promotions including how to research and evaluate promotions, utilizing various promotional techniques jointly--and independently. At the end of the book, readers can test their understanding of the material via a question and answer exercise.
How to Write Sales Letters that Sell: Learn the Secrets of Successful Direct Mail Drayton Bird
This book guides readers through the basics of writing a strong direct marketing sales letter that gets results. Topics include why some letters fail, and why others succeed, creating a letter that incorporates the customers point of view, quantifying the benefits of your product or service, identifying the appropriate tone, etc.
ZenWise Selling Lee Godden
ZenWise Selling teaches business professionals how to sell passionately, succeed financially and grow personally. Doing business with a Zen mind builds long-term customer relationships based on credibility, trust and ethics. Sales stress is also reduced. Godden, a longtime Zen practitioner, was a sales executive with Compaq and other Fortune 500 companies. He trains corporations and sales professionals worldwide.
The following organizations provide resources that might be valuable to NETSEA members. Periodically we will update this section with new links to organizations that support sales, marketing, business development or business processes.
If you would like to recommend a link, please forward your suggestion to resourcelinkideas@netsea.org. We request that these links provide at least some valuable resources and that they may be used for free.
CURRENT RESOURCE LIST
Marketing Perspectives and Tools www.marketingprofs.com
This site provides articles, tutorials, perspectives, features, and tools that can be useful to marketing professionals, CEOs, VPs and Directors of Marketing.
Senior Level Information on Managing Sales and Marketing www.softwareceo.com
This site provides links, industry research, case studies, tips, tactics, and software business advice and analysis for senior level executives in the software industry.
InfoUSA - Lead Finder www.infousa.com
A free database service that allows you to search for the address and phone number of more than 12 million businesses in the U.S. and Canada by name, type of business, SIC code, names of key executives, and more.
SEC Information on Leads www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/formpick.htm
When pursuing a complex sale, having detailed information about the prospect is critical. This site offers detailed information on public companies through annual reports (10-K) and quarterly reports (10-Q).
Hoover's Online www.hoovers.com
Particularly useful for information on private companies, which is unavailable through SEC reoirts. Provides free information on 9,000 public and private company profiles and records. Additional detailed information is available with a subscription.
D&B Marketing Community www.dnb.com/communities/marketing_US/0,2386,3-223-1012-0,00.html
This site provides summaries of books - including books on sales, marketing, and business development. They have reviewed over 700 of the best business books that executives.
B2B Marketing Biz www.b2bmarketingbiz.com
This site provides several newsletters and resources on B2B marketing. Information provided includes case studies, practical know-how, event information, interviews, and news.
Iconoclast eMarketing News www.iconocast.com
This e-marketing industry news source has information and analysis about this business arena. Their newslist, found on the site, is also very popular.
Successful Meetings www.successmtgs.com
How to make meetings more successful. Provides articles, meeting sites and destinations, and other interactive tools. Valuable to increase impact from both sales and business development meetings.
Free Management Library www.mapnp.org/library/
A variety of free information on marketing, sales, and other management topics. In addition to marketing and sales, other topics include compensation, benefits, project management, and many others.
Business Book Reviews www.businessbookreview.com
This site provides summaries of books - including books on sales, marketing, and business development. They have reviewed over 700 of the best business books that executives.
Software Pricing www.softwarepricing.com
SoftwarePricing.com is a resource for organizations and individuals involved with the pricing of software products.
