Crunched Blog

This post originally appeared on HBR Blog written by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman Conjure up the term “bad boss” and what comes to mind? Scenes of red-faced people berating subordinates in public. Smarmy souls taking credit for other people’s work or saying one thing and doing another. Cutting remarks. Yelling. Feel free to continue — we’re sure… Read More

Topics: Crunched, HBR, sales

According to Inc, the science focused hair-care startup Living Proof recently secured actress Jennifer Anniston as their new spokesperson. Anniston also gained a healthy portion of equity in the company. She told the press she plans on taking the hands on approach and working on product development with Living Proof’s team of scientists. Bagging a… Read More

Topics: endorsements, investors, sales, startup sales, startups

This post originally appeared on HBR Blog written by Julian Birkinshaw We all know bad managers — be they ambitious and aggressive, doing whatever it takes to move up the corporate ladder, or the opposite: managers thrust into their position without the skill or the will to do the job properly. I continue to be a little puzzled… Read More

Topics: Crunched, HBR, management, sales

Karl Stark and Bill Stewart, co-founders of Avondale, wrote an interesting piece for Inc. about how startups grow their brands. They offer tips for what comes next after the product finds its customers and how startups should continue to grow from there. To quote the post, “When a company is in growth mode, it’s natural… Read More

Topics: branding, marketing, sales, scalable brand, startup sales, startups

Confidence is an important asset for a salesperson. A positive mindset can be as key to a successful sale as anything else. If you’re happy you’re immediately more likable and easier to be around. A researcher, reporting for CNN, suggests that, “Happiness raises every single business and educational outcome for the brain.” The report goes… Read More

Topics: Confidence, happiness, sales, sales presentation, sales presentations, startup sales

We saw a great post on Mashable yesterday about the importance of giving your startup the right name. Cezary Pietrzak, a marketer at Qlabs, covers why a name is so important for a startup and then gives a few tips to help beginning startups through the naming process. Of course, all startups want to announce… Read More

Topics: clients, customers, Meetings, sales, sales presentations, startup sales, startups, word of mouth

We found an interesting article on Forbes about the sales relationships startups and other businesses create with their clients. Sales, after all, is about relationships, and keeping the customer happy should be on the mind of every startup. Paige Arnof-Fenn‘s column, “The Entrepreneur’s Playbook”,  asks if companies could earn better sales reputations by giving a little extra?… Read More

Topics: Forbes, sales, sales relationships, startup sales, startups

(Excerpted from Sean Black’s forthcoming book Dirty Sexy Money: How to Build Sales at Startups) Bows and Arrows Sales 2.0 is a movement away from classic interruptive sales techniques and a paradigm shift from “Always be Closing” to “Always be Helping”.  Building a Sales Machine by Aaron Ross and Sales 2.0 co-authored by Brent Holloway go into great… Read More

Topics: Book Excerpt, sales, startups

This post originally appeared on Harvard Business Review written by Heidi Grant Halvorson There is no shortage of advice out there on how to make a good impression — an impression good enough to land you a new job, score a promotion, or bring in that lucrative sales lead. Practice your pitch. Speak confidently, but not too… Read More

Topics: Crunched, personal branding, sales

This post originally appeared on Inc.com  written by Geoffrey James The five dumb mistakes drive customers away. Fortunately, they’re all easily avoided. Customer relationships are, of course, the key to growing revenue and profit.  Unfortunately, as with many relationships, you torpedo them by doing dumb and inconsiderate things. Here are five horribly common sales mistakes (and how to… Read More

Topics: Crunched, sales