So begins another year complete with a fresh – and likely higher – revenue expectation from your board and yourself! While there may be a few reasons you’ve already identified by reflecting upon the previous year’s performance, if your sales team treats your customer like a compiler that needs debugging, you’re not selling – you’re […]
Tag Archives: crossing the chasm
Demand Generation, Execution, Go-to-Market Strategy, GTM Strategy, Lead Generation
Demand on a Dime – How Smart Founders Cheat Their Way to Traction
22
Dec
Dec
Founders, ready for some holiday cheer?? The “shortcut” you’re chasing isn’t a shortcut – it’s discipline with fire under your feet. There are no viral hacks that magically carry you across the chasm from idea to adoption to commercialization. In fact, thinking back on my personal shortcut quest over the years reveals the only thing […]
Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Go-to-Market Strategy, Positioning, Sales
Sorry, Your Innovative Product Isn’t “Scary” Enough to Change Behavior
15
Dec
Dec
If you think you’re selling innovation, you’re already two steps behind reality. Despite what your gut or your PR agency might be telling you, here’s the painful truth about technical audiences: engineers don’t buy innovation – they avoid risk. They tackle problems. They solve critical issues. They only change what they absolutely must because failure […]
Go-to-Market Strategy, Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy, Positioning
Proof Over Hype – How to Make Engineers Actually Listen
18
Aug
Aug
You’re a founder of a cutting-edge tech startup. Your product wields science-heavy wizardry only a PhD could love. But guess what? Engineering your idea is the easy part. The hard part – getting engineers to care – lies in marketing that’s not clever but credible, not flashy but functional. Demand Generation and GTM: No Longer […]
Go-to-Market Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Messaging, Positioning
You’re Not Steve Jobs, and This Isn’t the iPhone
17
Jul
Jul
So, you think your B2B tech startup’s next-gen widget is the iPhone of [insert niche]? Newsflash: your hero fantasies won’t pay the bills. Crossing the chasm from idea to adoption isn’t about revolutionary press events – it’s about carving your own identity in a herd of look-alikes. First truth: B2B buyers aren’t dazzled by specs […]
Content Strategy, Execution, Go-to-Market Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Positioning, Sales, Value Proposition
Competitors Make Great Teachers but Even Better Roadkill
11
Jun
Jun
A seasoned product executive colleague I know lives by the mantra, “Steal all good ideas.” For product, this is certainly sage advice, but not necessarily efficient when it comes to facing competitive threats and can unnecessarily burn a startup’s precious time and resources when not a priority. Founders must remain aware that the B2B battlefield […]
Go-to-Market Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Messaging, Sales, Uncategorized
Technical Superiority Is a Lie You Tell Yourself
20
May
May
You’ve built a marvel of engineering – a product that’s faster, smarter, and more elegant than anything else out there. But here’s the brutal truth: technical superiority alone won’t close deals. In the B2B world, especially for tech startups, success hinges not just on what your product does, but on how well you communicate its […]
Execution, Go-to-Market Strategy, Positioning, Sales, Sales Enablement
Fanboys Alone Can’t Keep the Lights On – Here’s How to Woo the Risk-Averse
16
Apr
Apr
VIEWER WARNING – Be careful not to let the ease of selling to early adopters lull you into a false sense of security. For B2B tech startups, early adopters are the low-hanging fruit – enthusiastic, experimental, and eager to embrace innovation – they instantly “get it”. However, the real challenge lies in captivating the attention […]