Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Their product definition fluctuates wildly – one month, it’s a dessert topping, the next it’s a floor wax. Stories like these are what has led me to this definition of progress for a startup: validated learning about customers. Ive definitely felt some of this pain in our startup. Great post! Great post!

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 13, 2015

Here’s the Wikipedia definition : “In statistics and demography, a cohort is a group of subjects who have shared a particular event together during a particular time span[1] (e.g., Customers that converted in the last year that had a sales cycle of less than x weeks. Cohort analysis sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.

Conversion 48

Conversion Retention Acquisition Metrics 48

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 21, 2011

5 Stages of the New Sales Cycle This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Generating and converting leads is mostly what marketing is about. Some have cycles that are triggered by events, such as the birth of a child or start of a business. Below are the 5 stages in the new sales cycle.

Sales Cycle 78

Sales Cycle Sales Forecast Lead Generation 78

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

Some see it as a sales tactic, while others view it as a content marketing strategy. Because every business adapts ABM to suit their own growth model, the definition changes to fit. In his account-based marketing course , Watt goes on to unpack each of the adjectives in his definition: Sustained. ABM isn’t a quick and easy win.

Customer 98

Customer Marketing Channel Acquisition 98

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

As a CTO, I can definitely say without a doubt that few people understand what a CTO does. They shorten the sales cycle, mitigate risks, and provide assurance in the context of technical due diligence. When I tell someone I’m a CTO, I’m often met with a blank stare. There are two types of CTO’s: Up-and-Out, and Down-and-In.

Fractional CTO 54

Fractional CTO CTO Hire CTO Technical Review 54

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 23, 2019

There are other soft factors like sales cycle speed, marketing potential, competition, defensibility, and technology readiness level. However, you definitely must have efficient energy generation embedded into the façade of the building in order to get anywhere close to net-zero. That’s what led us to agriculture.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Startup Harvest .Net 54

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

But here’s what they don’t tell you about PMF: Effortless Customer Conversations When nearing PMF, conversations shift from convincing to responding to demand. It’s when your product stops feeling like a solution in search of a problem and becomes the solution your market can’t imagine living without.

Product 158

Product Marketing Sales Cycle Churn Rate 158

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

However, for the trials that they did receive they were successful at converting them to closed deals at the expected conversion rate. So we know from this that the problem is not the quality of those sales people. They may tell you that the number of visitors was on target, but the conversion rate fell below the previous levels.

Metrics 55

Metrics Design Entrepreneur Startup 55

ConversionXL

DECEMBER 8, 2015

One of the testing strategies is experimenting with the path people take towards their final conversion/purchase. How User Flow Affects Conversions. A major factor affecting your conversions is user flow. It’s also called user journey or conversion path. Split-path testing is one way of optimizing your conversion path.

Conversion 48

Conversion Analytics Matching Cost 48

VC Cafe

JUNE 6, 2024

This post explores the most important benchmarks VCs look for in B2B SaaS with data brought to you by 20VC/La Famiglia, Serena Capital, Emergence Capital, and Openview Ventures, providing definitions and insights into the most critical metrics for SaaS companies. PLG products see higher adoption of these metrics.

B2B 97

B2B Burn Rate Generative AI Retention 97

ReadWriteStart

MAY 12, 2011

What I love about the Stanzr value proposition is that it can host very quick online chat-based events for large numbers of prospects, help answer questions that can handle objections, and further qualify leads to generate definitive opportunities.

San Francisco 125

San Francisco Entrepreneur Silicon Valley India 125

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 23, 2016

As evidenced by the CMI study, many small business owners and marketing practitioners are laser-focused on new lead generation through content creation, digital marketing, conversion rate optimization and the like. The important thing to note from the definition above is that lead scoring measures that value of a lead to your company.

Lead Generation 28

Lead Generation Baltimore Programming Framework 28

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

That’d be a guaranteed 90+ percent conversion (there are always skeptics that won’t believe a good offer when they see one). There is no simple formula to figure out the optimal sales cycle (you can hire a bunch of McKinsey consultants, if you like), you have to base it on observations and testing. Timothy Sykes.

Email 131

Email Sales Cycle Minnesota Sales 131

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

We are going to leave out companies selling into municipalities or educational institutions due to long sales cycles that are very complex, hard to manage and even harder to profit from. Even further, this is not factoring in your conversion rate that essentially tells you how many clicks it takes to make a sale.

B2C 103

B2C B2B Business Model Sales Cycle 103

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. Don’t leave a meeting, conference call, or email conversation without establishing a follow-up plan. Napoleon Hill.

Social Media 113

Social Media Sales Cycle Media Audience 113

Brandanew

DECEMBER 21, 2015

Some products have a strong seasonal surge around the holiday season, and you need to be aware of your sales cycles. You can increase your online sales at Christmas by planning: Offers, promotions & sales. Live chats can significantly increase customer engagement and conversions over the holiday season.

eCommerce 100

eCommerce Sales Social Media Campaign 100

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

2,320 sign-ups; 39% of attendees were net new accounts; 34 sales-qualified opportunities; 5 new customers immediately converted with LTV of over $100k each (normally a 9 to 12 month sales cycle). Increase in revenue from 21% of target accounts; Faster sales cycle; Accelerated pipeline velocity. The result?

Marketing 105

Marketing Campaign Artificial Inteligence Sales Cycle 105

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 30, 2025

During our conversation, Alex revealed the raw truths about franchise ownership, the emotional triggers that drive investment decisions, and how effective marketing research can help buyers identify the right opportunities. You can deny them or approve them and go further down the conversation with them. That's 60 to 90 days.

Private Equity 77

Private Equity Bankruptcy Naming Equity 77

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Almost by definition to be a great leader you need to be an effective psychologist. How can I hit my quota selling to Deutsc he Bahn – their sales cycles are so slow! I opened up with a very blunt conversation about self confidence, self doubt, family pressure, peer pressure and the demands on a CEO.

Ireland 319

Ireland Sales Bankruptcy Germany 319

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 11, 2022

Shorten the sales cycle A strong referral program can significantly shorten the sales cycle. Have a special process for referral leads Not all referral leads will be ready to buy right away but they are definitely at a different stage in the sales funnel than your regular leads.

Programming 97

Programming Small Business Advisory Board B2B 97

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

Although you can make more money by running per-click or per-action ads on a per conversion basis, it’s also a lot harder to bring about these actions. Moreover, the hotel itself may be running ads to drive traffic to their site / app, and for them, a conversion is worth far more than $5. Sales cycles matter though.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

Although you can make more money by running per-click or per-action ads on a per conversion basis, it’s also a lot harder to bring about these actions. Moreover, the hotel itself may be running ads to drive traffic to their site / app, and for them, a conversion is worth far more than $5. Sales cycles matter though.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

VC Cafe

MARCH 15, 2016

My post focuses mostly on conversion. If you’ve never heard of the sales funnel before, here is a good overview of what we mean by that. The most important part is to start tracking “conversion” from one stage to another as soon as possible, because it will tell you what’s working and what can be improved.

Sales 60

Sales Marketing Sales Cycle B2C 60

Hippoland

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

I think if I were an entrepreneur who was location-agnostic, I would definitely move to Singapore and start a business there. Here’s my take on B2B – if you look at the US ecosystem, most of the high flying B2B companies got to their level of growth because of fast sales cycles. And that sales cycle can be long.

Asia 48

Asia Indonesia B2B Singapore 48

Hippoland

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

I think if I were an entrepreneur who was location-agnostic, I would definitely move to Singapore and start a business there. Here’s my take on B2B – if you look at the US ecosystem, most of the high flying B2B companies got to their level of growth because of fast sales cycles. And that sales cycle can be long.

Asia 48

Asia Indonesia B2B Singapore 48

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 2, 2019

I mean, there are definitely the people that live online, but there are maybe older school, more traditional brick and mortar businesses that they’re not really looking, or they’re not going to necessarily find somebody online are they? I definitely say everybody needs to charge for the small seminar and not do it for free.

Las Vegas 77

Las Vegas Mississippi Marketing Programming 77

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 26, 2015

Conversely, “latent behaviors”—like early-stage content and blog posts—earn much lower scores. Author: Ellen Gomes is a Content Marketing Specialist at Marketo and co-author of The Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing —a newly released eBook that offers unique insights, and practical lessons for nurturing leads like the pros.

Sales 28

Sales Early Stage Sales Cycle Conversion 28

www.rocketwatcher.com

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

. # of Opportunities – An opportunity is a lead that is now being actively managed by a sales person and is moving along the pipeline toward either a closed sale or a loss. For long sales cycles, it is important to measure this to estimate marketing ROI for tactics in the short term. April Amrita Reply 13.

B2B 42

B2B Metrics Marketing Startup 42

conversionxl.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

Extra Lucrative Conversion Advice. Conversion Optimization Services. Conversion Research. It’s Not a Conversion Problem, It’s a Customer Development Problem. I feel like “conversion rate optimization” is in 2013 what “social media marketing” was in 2009. Website Analysis.

Customer Development 60

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 60

ConversionXL

APRIL 3, 2018

CXLLive #conversion pic.twitter.com/qVYFcGhnD4. Find agreement on a common definition. previous conversations, facebook, intercom…). intimate communication is how we actually have our conversations, not email, or ads. Offline sale – typically. Long sales cycle – 18 months or more.

Retention 106

Retention Artificial Inteligence Channel Email 106

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

Real conversations with good people. Definitely make #CXLLive a priority in 2023. (It Don’t sleep on assisted conversions: these are any pages that are visited on the path to a website conversion. Andrei Faji, Engagement Marketing @ PandaDoc. Every conference should be like CXL Live. Great talks. Gaetano DiNardi.

B2B 94

B2B Marketing Curation PPC 94

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 30, 2019

So I guess we first should start with the description or definition of contact marketing. So Dan is, as you and I know, but he’s the author of Edgy Conversations, both the blog and the book, and he’s a top blogger in the sales space. We actually start bringing up the sales hit rate as well. What is it?

Marketing 50

Marketing Campaign Naming Sales 50

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

And I understand the nitty gritty operations required to do these customer acquisition methods, so that gives me conviction that with the right team, this type of business can fly. On the flip side, I am definitely the wrong person to help with a fly-business. I know nothing about viral marketing.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

And I understand the nitty gritty operations required to do these customer acquisition methods, so that gives me conviction that with the right team, this type of business can fly. On the flip side, I am definitely the wrong person to help with a fly-business. I know nothing about viral marketing.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

ConversionXL

DECEMBER 9, 2013

It means that if emotion plays a role in sharing at the top of the funnel, it definitely plays a role at the point of sale further down the road. Emotional Design Influences Sales. So What Does This Mean For You? Scientific proof on that in a bit). Overall, the campaign would involve a lot of text. image source. image source.

Sales 126

Sales B2B Campaign Video 126

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

We got a great reference, so the sales cycle was extremely short, maybe one call and one email. A 10% relative increase in conversion rate for a large site makes them millions—but gets you fired with a small client (as that’s nothing for them in absolute dollars). It’s the same amount of work but much more money.

SEO 110

SEO Hiring PPC Leadership 110

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 3, 2017

When trying to gauge the ROI of your content, you can’t rely on a single conversion point. Or your content visuals are good, but the copy isn’t engaging enough for them to comment or start a conversation. Content marketing used to engage prospective leads and help them move further in the conversion funnel.

Marketing 28

Marketing Metrics Clickthrough Analytics 28