30Jan

Passion To Sale = Key To Success

SUCCESSFUL LEADERS ALWAYS LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE.

Around 30 years ago, our company’s namesake, ResultatPartner (Result Partner), pioneered a revolutionary sales training program for businesses of every size. Today, our proven sales training program has made us one of the leader in sales and management training, with thousands of trainings run since then.

While much has changed in the business world since then, ResultatPartner and Improve Training has always kept pace. Under the leadership of Ronny A. Nilsen, CEO and Founder, ResultatPartner Training continues to innovate through our new company; Improve Performance International targeting Grown-up and mature Businesses (enterprise), Startups and Scaleups. In that spirit, we recently launched an “online digital portal” that our customers and franchisees can use in addition to face-to-face training. And we will continue to incorporate online reinforcement, online learning management and increased mobile availability.

With our unique reinforcement model, our Customers and Franchise Owners and Associated Partners can give businesses a competitive advantage by helping create a highly skilled sales force and inspiring management and leadership to excellence.

KEY TO SUCCESS = “PASSION TO SALES”

At Improve Startups we’ve earned a reputation for providing sales people with the insights they need to dominate in today’s hyper-competitive selling climate.

We believe key to success for Startups and Scaleups companies is driven by a “passion to sales” and the fact is; any employee should be aware of a companies growth is based on sales. Thats why we focus on sales improvement as one of the key elements boosting startups and scaleups.

Improve Startup is a research based sales training, sales coaching and sales consulting firm that is one of the leaders in the integration of proven science and sales. Based in Oslo, Norway, we study the scientific disciplines of social psychology, communication theory, cognitive psychology, social neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics since our founders established ResultatPartner (ResultPartner) back in 1991. We then take the repeatable and predictable principles, which science has proven to create and enable influence, out of the laboratory and academic journals and apply them to selling.

What’s more, we have conducted original scientific research that identified the mental process that the human brain goes through when making a buying decision. We then deconstructed this internal decision making process into clear, manageable steps that equip sales people to literally sell the way that their prospects’ brains are hardwired to buy.

When sales people base their sales activities and behaviors upon proven science, the results are always astounding: sales cycles shorten, market share grows, and sales production skyrockets and it repeat sales.

WHY IMPROVE STARTUPS?

We aim to help the world’s leading companies drive predictable revenue and profitability growth by optimizing sales organization performance.

WHY ARE WE DIFFERENT?

Our clients tell us we are unique for a variety of important reasons including:

Deep customization – actually it`s all about YOUR business, right?
Improve Performance and Training Systems (IPTS) – systematic and measurable driving performance!
Improve Performance Group; Our “Performance community”.
Industry specialization – we “know or adopt” to your industry.
Interactive learning – telling is not selling; showing and interactions make the difference.
Extensive curriculum – best fit!
Traditional and digital delivery modalities – digital portal connecting people, learning and relations.
Experienced and expert facilitators – at least 10 years of proven results and experience.
Results in initiating and sustaining change through the organization – implementing the hard stuff in a simplified way!

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25Jan

Are there any unicorns in Norway?

Are there any Norwegian unicorns?

Unicorns are fast-growing privately owned technology companies, with at least $ 1 billion in market value, equivalent to 8.2 billion NOK. The term is interpreted slightly differently and was first used in venture capital environments in the United States in 2013.

Now in June 2021, there are more than 700 unicorns in the world.

Do we have any Norwegians? The answer is yes.

We have Kahoot ASA, which was established in 2013 and has a market value of approx. NOK 30 billion as of June 2021. The company develops game-based learning systems, is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and was worth more than NOK 5 billion when it went public in October 2019.

The technology company Cognite was established in 2016.

Their technology disconnects data sources from industrial operations and makes the data available to machines and people so that they can make better decisions about production, maintenance, emissions and efficiency.

Cognite works with the power industry, shipping, oil and gas industry and process industry. In May 2021, the company is priced at NOK 13.3 billion after a capital raising.

The goal is an IPO on US Nasdaq.

A third company is Autostore AS – the Nordic region’s leading robot warehouse. By automating logistics solutions, the company hopes to reduce time, costs and space utilization in large warehouses. The company is not yet listed on the stock exchange, but after Japanese Softbank entered the ownership side of the company in April 2021, the estimated market value is NOK 65 billion. The company will probably be listed on the stock exchange in the near future.

Kolonial.no was founded in 2013 and has recently changed its name to Oda to invest internationally, initially in Finland and Germany. The online store has a turnover of NOK 50 million a week and is expected to have a turnover of NOK 2.5 billion this year. After Japanese Softbank and technology investor Prosus entered the ownership side in April this year, the company was valued at NOK 7.5 billion. In a new capital injection in June 2021, the company is valued at NOK 10.2 billion, and is thus a unicorn.

Source: Innovation Norway

https://www.innovasjonnorge.no/no/verktoy/eksport-og-internasjonal-satsing/tall-og-fakta/ta-et-skippertak-for-eksport/finnes-norske-enhjorninger/

20Jan

Why Your Sales Forecast Is Off

Despite Corona – “Sales forecasting” is commonplace among sales managers, despite the fact that it’s a ridiculously difficult undertaking and the further fact that forecasting accurately is nearly impossible.

It’s typical to end up with forecasted numbers that miss the mark by a sizable margin. Sales managers often find themselves in a familiar situation: running around in a postmortem panic over why their numbers are off. But neglecting to actually get to the bottom of the bad forecast is another classic misstep, the result of which is being in the same forecasting predicament quarter over quarter.

The act of forecasting is an exercise in futility if you fail to identify the culprits behind bad numbers. We’ve spent a lot of time researching and thinking about the topic, and we’re passing our learnings on to you. Read on to find out the root causes of faulty forecasting so you can stop predicting sunshine when there will in fact be rain.

You’re Relying on Bad and Incomplete Data
Your CRM is more riddled with holes than a wool sweater in a moth infestation. Some of your data is missing, or it’s outdated, or it’s simply inaccurate. Holes such as these can lead to skewed forecasts. Remember, what you get out of your CRM depends on what you put into it. The more data points your team inputs into your CRM, the more solid the data will be as far as forecasting. The more data you’ve amassed, the more accurately you’ll be able to forecast.

Direct your team to engage in data input as a best practice. Make sure everyone’s diligent about documenting communication points and populating fields at the account and opportunity stages. This collective effort will draw a data-driven picture of why some deals are successful and others cough their last breath and die. Adhere to this rule: “If it’s not in your CRM, it does not exist.”

You’re Being Blinded by Positivity Fairy Dust
The mantra of this industry could be, “Be optimistic or be obsolete.” Sales is chancy, yet despite what might be repeated setbacks, you must maintain a sunny disposition, staying positive when it comes to growth opportunities and deal closing. That said, you don’t want to go through your sales life being a happy idiot. Engage in that other “ism”—realism. Meaning, don’t clog your pipeline with too many potential deals that are built on wishes and dreams. That magical-thinking “user error” often results in an overinflated, unrealistic forecast. Making the effort to debug your pipeline is time well spent.

You’re Betting on the Wrong Horse
Be careful not to funnel your resources into unpromising deals. Emotion can be the driving force sometimes—“I like that company … I’d love to work with them … they seem cool!” Next thing you know, resources spent on your dream company have not resulted in a deal, and now you’re short on TME (time money energy) that was better spent pursuing more realistic leads. Again, this can be the result of too many deals in the pipeline, and/or the wrong ones getting special treatment while the right ones get ignored. Forget that glam deal you’d love to land. Focus on data management. Or, if you’ve mastered the art of data management already, use what you know about data science to rank and prioritize opportunities for reps, teams, region, or product lines, taking into account things like close probability, momentum, size, and market trends.

As people like to say, “No one has a crystal ball.” True enough, but forecasting can be thoughtful or it can be stab-in-the-dark reckless. When you make thoughtful, intelligent predictions, it’s more likely the clouds will part and you’ll have your day in the sun.

18Jan

6 Tips to Retain Your Top Sales Talent

In business, there’s an expression: To have and to hold, from this day forward. … Oh, wait, that’s a marriage vow. And even then it doesn’t bind. Here in the sales-verse, people coming and going like serial monogamists can sting your bottom line: Onboarding new hires is costly and time-consuming. Organizations must pay to find and vet potential new hires; they also need to invest at least six months and many person hours getting the newby up to speed and transformed into a contributing member of the organization. That initial investment can include helping them up and over the steep learning curve to know your product/services line by heart, as well as helping them understand how to sell to what could be an unfamiliar demographic for them.

Ultimately, you’d like your new hires to be whistling while they work to bring in business and increase your earnings. But if your organization suffers from RDS (Revolving Door Syndrome), you’ll squander company dollars making up for your attrition rate. In other words, until you get to the source of your retention problem and remedy it, you’ll keep feeding monster.com.

On average, it takes seven months and around $30K to find and onboard a new sales rep, according to a study by the Aberdeen Group. Such associated costs should be expected if your organization is in growth mode. Growth is a good problem to have! But if turnover is high year over year in your sales department, you’ve got a systemic problem. Even worse is losing top performers when they decide to move on to a better opportunity. Suddenly you’re busy trying to plug leaks in a ship from which everyone’s jumping.

From the Get-Go, Be Honest About Expectations
Just as you need to know who your prospective sales reps are, they need to know what sort of work environment they might be bringing their lunch box and framed family photos to. Signing them on to what they hadn’t bargained for will hurt you as they grow disgruntled and cynical on the job and/or quit in frustration. Instead of that fiasco, set realistic expectations at the interview stage, being honest with prospective hires about the workplace. You don’t need to scare them off, just be upfront about challenging aspects they might face at your company. If they’re good, they’ll understand that no sales opportunity is without its pros and cons.

Setting Realistic Goals and Monitoring Progress
Because sales folks are a competitive bunch, you can set goals for them that are challenging—but also attainable. And in doing so, don’t fail to provide the resources necessary to reach those goals. Keep tabs on individual contributors’ progress, and hold supportive one-on-one’s in which you discuss their performance. What you’re doing here is opening the lines of communication regarding job performance, and revealing where improvement and coaching are needed. Ever-competitive, your sales reps will take up the gauntlet.

Outline Realistic Goals and Coach Accordingly
While we’re on the topic of coaching … one of the best investments you can make in your new hires is to coach them. Coaching benefits the company by increasing staff competency rate, while at the same time signaling to your workforce that they are worth investing in. Coaching is something we’ve blogged and “articled” about before because it’s so important for the health of a company. Failing to nurture reps through ongoing coaching will result in a workforce that’s frustrated at being underprepared and under-supported when doing their job.

Reexamine Your Compensation Package
Money is on the mind of top-performing sales reps. They’re not coming to work for the free instant cocoa in the breakroom (with or without mini marshmallows). Casual Friday isn’t tooting their horn. If not properly compensated, they’re likely to shop their résumé around to more generous companies. Reexamine your compensation package on an annual basis, taking into account what’s being offered at competing organizations. Tiered plans with rewards for top performers can attract stronger candidates, as can additional compensation for lower-performing but still valuable reps. Put this question through the thought mill: How much are you saving with your slim-pickings compensation compared to how much you’re losing in attrition costs each year?

Engage in Incentivizing
Developing fun and creative ways to show your appreciation for your valuable staff will further motivate them to stay with you. Incentives such as gym memberships, flex time, additional time off, even an in-house concierge will build loyalty; they also promote a more stress-free work environment. Holding weekly, monthly, or quarterly sales contests will additionally motivate your naturally competitive sales staff to do their best.

Exit Interview: What Went Wrong?
Sometimes despite a company doing everything right for their employees, they lose top people. That’s just a difficult reality you face in business. But these days too many companies fail to take advantage of a relatively painless datamining tool: the exit interview. If you want to know why Jane or John Doe is “breaking up with you,” sit them down one on one and ask why they’re resigning. And don’t have their direct supervisor be the one doing the asking—you don’t want those on the way out to hold back anything. Ideally, the exit interview should be conducted by a member of the HR team.

Remember, when it comes to employee retention, it’s one thing to get them to say “I do”; it’s another to hold them and keep them.

14Jan

How To Overcome B2B Price Objections

Bar none, the biggest objection a customer ever raises is price. Often they don’t comprehend the value of your solution, therefore concluding that the number you’ve quoted is completely arbitrary, maybe even greed-based. It’s true that today’s customers exist in a climate of global competition; they know how to “Google it,” etc. But information isn’t always knowledge, so they’re not necessarily well-versed when it comes to your products and services. At the decision-making phase of the sales cycle, act as a trusted advisor and guide your prospects toward a deeper understanding of how you can fill their need.

In the early stages, be prepared for price objections to rise like odors from an ancient sea chest. It’s your job to both anticipate and neutralize those objections, “Fabrezing” them with explanations that will get prospects to understand that your price corresponds, as we’ve said, to the value of your solution. Below is a list of common price objections and how to effectively respond to each.

It’s Not in My Budget
When customers are bound by a budget, they’ll naturally base their range on its restrictions. But they may also use the old budget excuse for insisting on a lower price. Be a proactive seller, throwing out a number before the customer does. And then, if you choose, ask if that price falls within the range they’re comfortable with. If the customer does trot out a number before you’ve had a chance to name your price, ask how they’ve arrived at that figure, and then explain why, based on your value proposition, you can or cannot meet them at the price they say they’re locked into.

Shock and Awe
We’ve all witnessed the wide-eyed look of shock on a customer’s face, as if the price we’ve put forward has physically harmed them. The shock can be real, but it can also be a bit of theater. Don’t cave in to their emotion, real or “academy award-winning.” Just be direct and ask why they feel your price is too high. See this as an opportunity to link your benefits and features with their needs that you should’ve uncovered by now.

The Price Is Wrong
You could say, “This product is free” and that would still be too high a price for some customers. That’s because they’re poised to balk at the price before you’ve even begun the conversation. When they object to the quote, ask them why. In order to reason with them, you need to understand their rationale. Many things can account for customers’ unrealistic price expectations, including misinformation and limited information. They may have done bad research. When they say they’ve paid less in the past, gently point out that if they’d been satisfied with their last supplier, they would not be looking for alternatives now. Again you’ve got an opportunity here to make the connection between their needs and your goods and services.

Bait and Switch
It’s sometimes the case that a prospect asks for a quote for a large order, but then decides they want a smaller order, only at the same price per unit. Never give them your answer without first reviewing the pricing based on the new scope of the order. As a trusted adviser, look at the sale as part of a whole—you’re building a long-term relationship, not cutting a deal and then never seeing them again. Get more insight from the buyer, and then build on that conversation in order to reach a happy pricing ground. Even though the order is smaller than what you’d bargained for, offer concessions. Keep the relationship going.

Playing the Urgency Card
It’s not only bad sales reps who play the urgency card; customers will sometimes make it sound like a decision has to be made right away or the whole deal is going to blow to smithereens. They might use the line, “I’ve got a meeting in one hour and need to present my options. Is this the best you can do for me?” At which point, you’ve got a choice, you can get scared and cave, dropping the price to suit the “emergency.” Or you can say, “I can’t make that kind of concession without in-house approval. If I’m not able to meet your deadline, I hope we can discuss working together once your meeting concludes later this afternoon.” If you do get a reaction from them later in the day, you’ll know they were never going to dynamite the bridge.

Buyers whose sole focus is price will try one of the above to lower the dollar amount for what they want. They may pull two or more tricks out of their bag. Don’t lower your need based on their price expectations. What they really want is a good product; they know it and you should too. Remember that price isn’t the only thing that makes a sale. What you have to offer are great goods and services—stand behind the power of your solutions. Keeping that in mind will help you stay calm. Focus on asking about their objections and addressing those concerns. Be a trusted advisor, making sure that everyone walks away happy—and comes back for more.

10Jan

6 Tips to Increase Trade Show Sales

Spring is starting to show through here in our hometown of Las Vegas. We’re in the midst of trade show season and companies from a host of different industries are visiting the city to promote their offerings and vie for future business.

The sales-verse is inhabited by better-educated customers these days, and we have innovations meant to streamline the getting and keeping of business, but trade shows, while somewhat expensive, still present a decent opportunity for showcasing yourself to a vast swath of potential customers. Hotels are booked solid and hosted afterhours get-togethers are packed with peers bonding over open-bar libations. It’s organized chaos; it’s also a lot of fun. And, like the hotels and casinos, you too can see a healthy ROI on your trade show marketing dollars. The difference is, you’ll be working your long game. Here are some tips for ensuring that your money is well-spent, along with practical ways to lay the groundwork for a future return on your investment this trade show season.

Don’t Wing It
“Let’s just show up and work the floor” is the wrong attitude for trade shows. Your booth might be snazzy. The polo shirts emblazoned with your logo might look great on your reps. But being the “cool” booth isn’t enough. Plan and prep for trade shows several months in advance, with your sales and marketing teams collaborating to align goals, set objectives, earmark budget dollars, and put in place any other plans you set in order to have a successful trade show season. Action items on your prep list should include things like nabbing strategically important trade show floor real estate to creating eye-catching collateral to brainstorming fun giveaways that go beyond cheap click pens and magnets to tracking leads and how to assign them.

Map It Out
Put in place a pre- and post-show prospecting plan, using your marketing team’s expertise to create awareness of who you are—among other things, this will help effectively drive foot traffic to your booth during the show. You don’t have to limit your outreach to an email campaign; work it via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and, if you have the luxury of an outbound team, by phone as well. If you cannot get an attendee list before the show, obtain the one from the previous year. There’s a good chance many of last year’s attendees will be there this year.

Keep Things Simple
From booth design to collateral, don’t go to the weird side. Attendees will likely be overstimulated walking through the show, with all the many sights and sounds putting their senses on overload. Be the compelling calm in the eye of the trade show storm.

Identify your target audience and develop a clear, straightforward yet engaging message for them to get their minds around in a relatively short time. It’s like the dying prospector telling where the gold is buried: If he hems and haws, he croaks before getting to the point, and suddenly no one’s interested anymore. Or, compare it to cold calls, during which you only have a few precious seconds to pique a prospect’s interest. Booth hopping is what it’s all about at trade shows, so if you blow your opportunity with a rambling, unclear message, an attendee will be out of there faster than a free fridge magnet drops into a hotel bathroom wastebasket. Both your booth design and your script should tell your story in a concise, compelling way.

Booth Camp
Thoughtfully plan for a booth design that looks good and meets your budget. Booths range from lower-end pop-up fiberglass jobbies to more involved aluminum numbers that take hours of set up. And in certain states, such as here in Nevada, you’re required by law to use union-scale labor if power tools or ladders are needed in setting up the booth. If your booth is too elaborate, you might be cutting into your trade show budget by paying out contractors before things even begin.

Calm Yourself
You don’t want to act like a carnival barker on the midway, heavy handedly ambushing visitors and hovering over them. Expect the foot traffic to come in waves throughout the day. At times you’ll only get a handful of folks at your booth. Don’t pounce. Wait for them to make eye contact before engaging them. Smile and let them browse your booth and collateral, giving them time to acclimate to who you are and what you’re about.

Even before the trade show wraps up, put together your post-show strategy. Attendees will have visited various booths, and they’ll be reached out to afterwards by numerous companies, including your own. If you stood out at the trade show with, say, a memorable giveaway, reference that in your follow-up messaging to prospects—“Hope you’re enjoying your insulated coffee mug/metal water bottle/Amazon gift card.”

Finally, code your trade show leads before inputting them into your CRM. This way, you can track your sales pipeline, separating out booth visitors from other leads to calculate your trade show ROI.

From all of us to all of you, have a happy, healthy trade show season!

04Jan

Plan and Prepare For Your Sales Call

Research shows that salespeople will never reach their performance potential without a well-defined sales-call procedure that they can follow and learn from. “Winging it” on sales calls has grim consequences – lost sales, extended sell cycles, margin erosion and no clear path to improvement. Bottom line: Your entire sales career can be mediocre if you “wing it.”

Performance improves by as much as 50% when salespeople have a consistent game plan for their sales calls.

Most salespeople make the same mistakes over and over without realizing it. Without a logical sales call plan to follow, they can’t even identify specific problems, let alone correct them. A good sales process mirrors the pattern by which customers make buying decisions.The nine acts of Cosine break a sales call into its most important components, sequenced in the order of the five key buying decisions every customer makes. By analyzing each segment of a call and testing against the customer’s buying decisions, salespeople can quickly recognize problems and adjust their behavior accordingly.

Without a system like Cosine, the only thing salespeople can look at is whether they won or lost the sale. If you don’t know what went wrong or why, you can’t improve your performance.

In The Field

A leading architectural services faced a common problem. They were having trouble trying to sell an intangible service that was seen more as a luxury than a necessity. The firm’s growth had stopped and they were losing business to far less capable competitors.

The Sales Board delivered a 2-day onsite Cosine sales training workshop for their sales staff, teaching the Cosine process and documenting the company’s Best Sales Practices. Twelve weeks of Skill Drill Modules followed, further honing the new selling skills the group had acquired.

Within only three months the CEO reported business grew by 20%. In addition, he said, “My sales team’s professionalism and sense of confidence increased as a direct result of the Action Selling program. Having a clear understanding of the selling strengths and weaknesses of each sales team member has made sales management both focused and effective for the first time.”

Tracking Prospecting Performance

Planning your Prospecting

02Jan

Performance Management Checklist 2023

Introduction

Performance appraisals, performance reviews, appraisal forms, whatever you want to call them, let’s call them gone. As a stand-alone, annual assault, a performance appraisal is universally disliked and avoided. After all, how many people in your organization want to hear that they were less than perfect last year? How many managers want to face the arguments and diminished morale that can result from the performance appraisal process?

How many supervisors feel their time is well-spent professionally to document and provide proof to support their feedback – all year long? Plus, the most important outputs for the performance appraisal, from each person’s job, may not be defined or measurable in your current work system. Make the appraisal system one step harder to manage and tie the employee’s salary increase to their numeric rating.

If the true goal of the performance appraisal is employee development and organizational improvement, consider moving to a performance management system. Place the focus on what you really want to create in your organization – performance management and development. As part of that system, you will want to use this checklist to guide your participation in the Performance Management and Development Process. You can also use this checklist to help you in a more traditional performance appraisal process.

Or.. you may schedule a meeting with us giving you the opportunity to consider our Improve Performance System within your organization? You are welcome to send us an email or give us a call; +4792804155 and set up a meeting with Managing Director / Head Trainer Ronny A Nilsen.

In a recent Human Resources Forum poll, 16 percent of the people responding have no performance appraisal system at all. Supervisory opinions, provided once a year, are the only appraisal process for 56 percent of respondents. Another 16 percent described their appraisals as based solely on supervisor opinions, but administered more than once a year.

If you follow this checklist, I am convinced you will offer a performance management and development system that will significantly improve the appraisal process you currently manage. Staff will feel better about participating and the performance management system may even positively affect – performance.

Preparation and Planning for Performance Management

Much work is invested, on the front end, to improve a traditional employee appraisal process. In fact, managers can feel as if the new process is too time consuming. Once the foundation of developmental goals is in place, however, time to administer the system decreases. Each of these steps is taken with the participation and cooperation of the employee, for best results.

Performance Management and Development in the General Work System

Define the purpose of the job, job duties, and responsibilities.
Define performance goals with measurable outcomes.
Define the priority of each job responsibility and goal.
Define performance standards for key components of the job.
Hold interim discussions and provide feedback about employee performance, preferably daily, summarized and discussed, at least, quarterly. (Provide positive and constructive feedback.)
Maintain a record of performance through critical incident reports. (Jot notes about contributions or problems throughout the quarter, in an employee file.)
Provide the opportunity for broader feedback. Use a 360 degree performance feedback system that incorporates feedback from the employee’s peers, customers, and people who may report to him.
Develop and administer a coaching and improvement plan if the employee is not meeting expectations.

Immediate Preparation for the Performance Development Meeting

Schedule the Performance Development Planning (PDP) meeting and define pre-work with the staff member to develop the performance development plan (PDP).
The staff member reviews personal performance, documents “self-assessment” comments and gathers needed documentation, including 360 degree feedback results, when available.
The supervisor/ Internal Trainer prepares for the PDP meeting by collecting data including work records, reports, and input from others familiar with the staff person’s work.
Both examine how the employee is performing against all criteria, and think about areas for potential development.
Develop a plan for the PDP meeting which includes answers to all questions on the performance development tool with examples, documentation and so on.

The Performance Development Process (PDP) Meeting

Establish a comfortable, private setting and rapport with the staff person.
Discuss and agree upon the objective of the meeting, to create a performance development plan.
The staff member discusses the achievements and progress he has accomplished during the quarter.
The staff member identifies ways in which he would like to further develop his professional performance, including training, assignments, new challenges and so on.
The supervisor discusses performance for the quarter and suggests ways in which the staff member might further develop his performance.
Add the supervisor’s thoughts to the employee’s selected areas of development and improvement.
Discuss areas of agreement and disagreement, and reach consensus.
Examine job responsibilities for the coming quarter and in general.
Agree upon standards for performance for the key job responsibilities.
Set goals for the quarter.
Discuss how the goals support the accomplishment of the organization’s business plan, the department’s objectives and so on.
Agree upon a measurement for each goal.
Assuming performance is satisfactory; establish a development plan with the staff person, which helps him grow professionally in ways important to him.
If performance is less than satisfactory, develop a written performance improvement plan, and schedule more frequent feedback meetings. Remind the employee of the consequences connected with continued poor performance.
The supervisor and employee discuss employee feedback and constructive suggestions for the supervisor and the department.
Discuss anything else the supervisor or employee would like to discuss, hopefully, maintaining the positive and constructive environment established thus far, during the meeting.
Mutually sign the performance development tool to indicate the discussion has taken place.
End the meeting in a positive and supportive manner. The supervisor expresses confidence that the employee can accomplish the plan and that the supervisor is available for support and assistance.
Set a time-frame for formal follow up, generally quarterly.

Following the Performance Development Process Meeting

If a performance improvement plan was necessary, follow up at the designated times.
Follow up with performance feedback and discussions regularly throughout the quarter. (An employee should never be surprised about the content of feedback at the performance development meeting.)
The supervisor needs to keep commitments relative to the agreed upon development plan, including time needed away from the job, payment for courses, agreed upon work assignments and so on.
The supervisor needs to act upon the feedback from departmental members and let staff members know what has changed, based upon their feedback.
Forward appropriate documentation to the Human Resources office and retain a copy of the plan for easy access and referral.

01Jan

Rational vs. Emotional Buying Decisions

It is probably true that most of us would see ourselves as rational people. When questioned about our reasons for buying we are more likely to come up with rational reasons – but if we are really honest with ourselves, we know intuitively that that isn’t really the whole story. Alongside the rational reasons customers might tell us will influence their buying decision will almost certainly be some very powerful emotional factors that will strongly influence their decision.

Primary Buying Motives

Profit (Price, protection of investment)
Convenience (Makes the customer’s work life easier)
Prestige (Appeals to the customer’s self-image)
Safety (Reduces risks for the customer)
Peace of mind (Security, less can go wrong. Professional. Technical support)
Pleasure (enhances the state-of-the-art products from your company)
Other… Instant response. True 24/7 support. Fast response and deployment time.

What is it about?

These headings pin-point the main customer relevant buying motives mentioned when buying our products and services. We differentiate here between rational buying motives – those dictated by reason and emotional buying motives – those that appeal to the customers’ emotions.

The buying motive counts.

What is it about?

Rational buying motives

Quality. Functionality. Safety. Comfort. Economic. Variability. Environmental. Support.

Question is; how does your product/service/solution fit?

How you prepare for the talk, your questions and way it`s provided?

Emotional Buying Motives

Peace of mind. Individuality. Design. Innovation. Prestige. Exclusively. Flexibility.

How would you trigger the emotional aspects in a sales process?

20Dec

STARTUPS FUNDING STAGES

STARTUP FUNDING STAGES

Running a startup business is tough. That’s why 80% fail.

Our mission is to improve Startups and Scaleups by developing a digital platform connecting people, processes and performance. And its vital you get off on the right foot otherwise you will most likely be part of the stats. So lets start with some definition.

Startups

The term startup refers to a company in the first stages of operations. Startups are founded by one or more entrepreneurs who want to develop a product or service for which they believe there is demand. These companies generally start with high costs and limited revenue, which is why they look for capital from a variety of sources such as venture capitalists. (Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/startup.asp)

Scaleups

A scaleup (company) is a company who has an average annualized return of at least 20% in the past 3 years with at least 10 employees in the beginning of the period (OECD, 2007)[1]

A scaleup can be identified as being in the “growth phase” life-cycle in the Millers and Friesen (1984)[2] life cycle theorem, or the “Direction phase” in the Greiner growth curve.

The importance of scaleups and the rise of their terminology can be found in the study of the World Economic Forum which found that not all startups make it big, but the ones that do greatly impact society by means of new technology, services and increased employment.[3]

To aid this rise, instead of large startup incubators, policy makers are more and more focusing on scaleups since they are the ones that add value.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaleup_company

Startup incubator

A startup incubator is a collaborative program for startup companies — usually physically located in one central workspace — designed to help startups in their infancy succeed by providing workspace, seed funding, mentoring and training. Startup incubators are usually nonprofit organizations, often associated with universities and business schools who extend invitations to students, alumni and members of the community to take advantage of the program. Some popular incubator programs include Y Combinator, TechStars and Excelerate Labs. In Norway you will find a great list here.

According to SCORE, incubators often provide access to the resources needed to launch a business. This may include office space and equipment, utilities (including internet service) and discounted or free professional services, such as accounting and legal help.

Startup Funding Stages

There are 6 core stages for your Startup journey and during each you will see different ways of funding your business.

Funding stages

Based on the raising purpose, startup funding rounds are divided into the following stages:

pre-seed/seed;
series A, B, & C;
and IPO.

Seed stage funding

Pre-seed funding is when founders are trying to give their idea the initial push and often invest their own money.

It is followed by the Seed stage, where founders attract so-called angel investors. These people provide funds for further research, testing market needs, hiring a team, and production start.

At the seed stage, tech startups can aim at anywhere between $500K and $2 million investments, depending on their needs and presentation. Investors are ready to take risks, and typically invest in a number of startups. Those that go through then receive additional capital.

Some of the well-known companies considered for this stage are Y Combinator, 500 startups, SV Angel, and Techstars.

Series A

Next comes round A. It is focused mainly on the startups that have a proven business model, decent customer base, and are already generating profit.

The investments at this stage can start from $3 million and require a specific strategy to reach higher ROI. Typical investors here are venture capital firms that ask startups to show real data and progress received from previous investments. They want to see the startup turning into a valuable money-making machine ready to scale and get to the next level.

Series B

Round B helps startups turn into enterprises.

At this point, they’ve already matured, have a large user base, and are looking for VC-level participation. Investments at this stage can range anywhere around $10 million and up (Mixpanel raised $65 million series B). This stage is all about scaling up the team and exploring new markets.

Some of the biggest investors here are Accel, Insight Venture Capitals, and Sequoia Capital and from Norway we find; Alliance Venture, Fynd Ocean Ventures, Hadean Ventures, Investinor, Idekapital, Northzone.

Series C

Moving to round C implies an even higher level of expansion.

The companies are already successful, value $100+ million, and are aiming to receive equal funding (again, Magic Leap has raised almost $1 billion). As one of the last funding stages, round C includes not only extending current project capabilities but creating new products. So, prepare to work with the largest VC firms and corporate-level investors that are far more demanding.

Companies at this stage are getting their exit strategies ready to smoothly approach IPO.

IPO

The final stage of a startups’ existence, initial public offering (IPO) is the process of opening a private company’s shares to the public.

This unlocks a vast amount of funding available on the public market along with a new level of transparency. However, it also means additional complexity because now you have to deal with shareholders in addition to investors. Such relationships require a lot of effort and you can expect it to be challenging and expensive.

Investors

What different types of investors are there for funding your startup? There’s more than one type of investor to fundraise from. So, how are they different? Which may be a good match and when? Below is a list with the different types of investors:

1) Friends & Family

The first type of investor entrepreneurs should be approaching at the very beginning are friends and family and close personal contacts. At this stage there is very little hard evidence and proof to base a real investment or funding on. They are essentially investing in the idea, and far more importantly – you. These are the people that already know you, like and trust you and believe in you the most. This type of investor may not provide a lot of money. It could be in the range of $1,000 to $200,000. Though if you can’t raise money from this group, other investors are probably going to ask themselves why.

2) Banks & Government Agencies

These aren’t true investors like the others on this list, but they can be sources of capital. Traditional banks are generally not an easy source of capital for early stage startups and small businesses. However, as you gain traction they may offer business credit cards, lines of credit and merchant advance loans.

There may also be government programs providing grants for certain types of projects. That doesn’t mean that bringing in this type of capital will be any easier, and loans require repayment, often when you really need as much liquidity and slack as possible. They won’t require giving up equity in your company, but they can impact your profitability, which may show up when you try to raise money from other investors later.

One thing to note about government programs is that in many instances the come with certain restrictions and limitations which may be burdensome for startups. With this in mind founders should review very carefully what those expectations are.

3) Angel Investors

Professional angel investors are normally approached when it comes to the seed round and beyond. They are willing to fund smaller operations than VCs, may be more flexible in terms, and can offer a lot of value in wisdom and connections.

Angel investors can be approached directly online, at live pitch events, and through introductions from other startup founders.

4) Angel Groups

Angel groups have been increasing. They have become more popular and more organized. These are groups of angel investors who band together to make investments in startups. This enables them to invest with more confidence, with larger check sizes, and with lower exposure to risk.

5) Accelerators & Incubators

These vehicles can ultimately be a gateway to a variety of the types of investors on this list. If accepted into one of these programs you may receive anywhere from $10,000 to $120,000 in seed money to cultivate your idea and gain traction, while benefiting from additional knowledge and resources. If everything is going well, you’ll be pitching larger investors and be introduced to funding sources during their demo days that can help take you to the next level. Just be ready to hustle, these programs want to speed you on the way to the next stage quickly.

6) Family Offices

Family offices are increasingly being drawn to the advantages of investing in startups. However, as some of the most successful entrepreneurs that have appeared as guests on the DealMakers Podcast have pointed out, as investors, family offices can have quite different interests and game plans. Each can be very different.

Working with them can be very different depending on who is managing the decisions and process. Taxes, long term multigenerational investing, prestige and income may be more important for these investors than others on this list who are pushing to an earlier exit.

7) Venture Capital Firms

VCs are the holy grail of investors for fundraising entrepreneurs. They come with the biggest checks, the most power to fuel success and gaining market share, and most juice when it comes to achieving more credibility and visibility.

More venture capital firms are looking at and are participating in earlier funding rounds. Though it is much more likely these investors will show up and be secured in Series A, B and C fundraising rounds than earlier.

Do note that not all of these firms are created equal. The best match can be influenced by location, the timeline of their funds, their interest and expertise in a certain field, their power to help you get to the next stage and of course, how they treat their founders.

8) Corporate Investors

Investing in startups carries a variety of benefits for big corporations. Including supporting their own growth numbers, diversifying assets, and identifying talent and technology which can help them fend off industry changes and fuel revenues and profits. Some have funds to invest in outside startups. More are launching their own accelerator and incubator programs and ecosystems for cultivating these opportunities.

These investors can be great allies in taking your business to the next level. Though they can be quite different to work with, and any integration or collaboration on sales channels, systems and customer bases needs to be approached carefully and with a lot of patience.

Founding entrepreneurs and corporate investors often have completely different styles and perspectives. It’s going to be vital to learn to understand each other and have some boundaries set up when going in, if this is going to be an enjoyable relationship.

How to finance your startup in Oslo?

Oslo Business region is a great website covering the do`s and don’t`s in the Startup world. You may read more about it here.

Summary

As you can see from this list, there are a wide variety of very different types of investors for funding startups. Some are very specialized in the stages and funding rounds they will invest at. Though these lines are increasingly blurring. Think of this as a ladder, not an A or B menu list.

As the startup or scaleup grows different sources of capital will be more advantageous and valuable to fueling that next level of growth. Understanding these differences will be invaluable for an efficient fundraising campaign and targeting the right investors at each raise.

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