Innovation & Start-up Solutions

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Which Aspects of Innovation and Start-up Are You Struggling With?

Validate Market Viability

Craft Value Proposition

Manage Start-up Operations

Funding For Ideas

Mentor & Coach Entrepreneurs

Hire & Train Sales Managers

Connect With Experts

Build Board of Directors

What Causes Innovation To Fail?

  1. Entrepreneurs Lack Sales Experience in lead generation, appointment setting, buyer qualification and needs investigation, pricing, and asking for the sale
  2. Product or Service is not viewed as a “must-have” and/or does not meet buyer minimum viable expectations
  3. Distracted by building the product or service, meetings with investors, or other non-sales activities
  4. Time Pressure to generate immediate revenue results to cover start-up costs scares off buyers
  5. Selling Future Product Capabilities rather than selling buyers on what the product/service is today

Steps For Converting Ideas Into Funding and Revenue

Step 1 – Generate Ideas

  1. Source ideas
  2. Feedback channels to identify new ideas
  3. Trend analysis 
  4. Idea prioritization
  5. Business model canvas

Step 2 – Validate Ideas

  1. Competitor Scan
  2. IP San
  3. Product Mapping
  4. Prototype
  5. Buyer Feedback
  6. Market Definition
  7. Market Sizing
  8. Buyer Profiles
  9. Pricing Model(s)

Step 3 – Fund Idea Development

  1. Business Plan
  2. Exit Strategy
  3. Investor Strategy
  4. Legal Structure
  5. Financing Structure
  6. Investor Pitch
  7. Term Sheets
  8. Board Meeting Approach

Step 4 – Craft Value Prop & Sales Approach

  1. Open the sales conversation
  2. Investigate buyer needs and qualify them
  3. Demonstration your solution
  4. Present pricing options
  5. Negotiate and close the deal
  6. Handle objections at any point during the conversation

Step 5 – Launch Start-up Operations

  1. Launch marketing website
  2. Set up eCommerce
  3. Install lead management and CRM system
  4. Generate lists of prospects
  5. Begin marketing communications and promotions
  6. Office space
  7. Hiring and employee onboarding
  8. Management team development

Step 6 – Make Connections

  1. Customers
  2. Industry experts
  3. Analysts
  4. Lawyers
  5. Accountants
  6. Investors

Step 7 – Provide Entreprenuer Mentoring

  1. Business acumen
  2. Meeting management
  3. Time management
  4. Investor relations
  5. Sales operations
  6. Marketing operations
  7. Human Resource operations
  8. Strategic planning
  9. Forecasting

Step 8 – Build-out Sales Process Infrastructure For Growth

Part 1 – Sales Strategy
  1. Sales forecasting for revenue, sales pipeline activities, sales productivity, staffing requirements and selling expenses
  2. Sales and market planning by industry, geography, buy-point, product, and service, buy point, etc.
  3. Sales organization design to get the right salespeople to the right place at the right time
  4. Sales culture to ensure that sales call execution is being reinforced
Part 2 – Sales Execution
  1. Sales procedures for lead generation, appointment setting, new customer acquisition, customer onboarding, customer service, account management renewals, cross-selling, and win-backs
  2. Sales technology including CRM, marketing automation, customer service, phone, auto-dialer, sales library, productivity, project management, territory mapping and routing, and human resources
  3. Sales content for awareness building, purchase evaluation, company information, product and service information, pricing and proposals, promotional materials, contacts and customer service help desk
  4. Sales people for hiring, onboarding, coaching, compensating, rewarding, evaluating, training, developing future sales leaders, and succession planning
Part 3 – Sales Evaluation
  1. Sales measurement for tracking sales activities, sales opportunities, and contact history
  2. Sales analysis for internal activities, results, and trends; as well as external events and trends
  3. Sales reporting for industries, buyer companies, sales activities, revenue, sales regions, and salespeople
  4. Sales process improvement for gap analysis, problem identification and prioritization, improvement planning, and improvement reporting
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