A: When transformations or growth are stunted (assuming the strategy and execution plan are solid) it’s almost always due to the communication style of the Executive team. Fixing communications will have a big impact and can be done quickly. Poor communicators fall into several camps:
All Hands communications on the strategy, projects, and issues/concerns/risks the firm needs to focus on always drive productivity and engagement. Even bad news, such as cost cutting, is best delivered firmwide to prevent miscommunications and misinformed fears. Transformation success requires trusting employees with the information necessary to drive change and allowing them to engage in the process.
A: At the pre-seed/seed stages a founder and 1 salesperson can evangelize the brand. However, actively managing a sales pipeline and the messaging appropriate to each funnel stage requires more rigor than evangelizing. Anyone who has worked in a Global B2C/DTC or B2B company knows that marketing is key to maintaining a strong brand and consistent messaging globally as you scale.
A marketing expert provides leverage to your CPO, CTO, and Sales team, and can boost overall productivity as you scale by:
#1 - Optimizing sales time/budget on prospecting. Focus prospecting efforts on the right segments and arm sales with scripts/marketing materials for different buyer/user groups to keep messaging consistent. Tip: ask each salesperson to demo a pitch to each prospective buyer type to assess how the presentations and key points vary - identify areas for training and improvement.
#2 - Ensuring new product/service communications, descriptions, and key messages remain consistent internally and externally across channels (PR, website, pitch materials, product/service videos/brochures, SLAs, Product or Support FAQs, RFPs, etc.). Maintain a “master copy” of current/updated content on:
--How product/service/technology works
--New product/service/feature descriptions for “pre-selling”
--Perceived value/benefits by end-user groups (ex. tech values “sexy” features while support teams prioritize efficiency/productivity features)
--Implementation/integration processes
--Service level commitments/guarantees
#3 - Training all employees on key messaging to help amplify the brand and potentially source new sales prospects when discussing work with their network.
Hire a great PMO. This provides leverage to your CTO and their direct reports, and can improve overall productivity by optimizing resource allocation. PMOs hold everyone accountable - including your product and business teams- for staying on time and budget.
A great PMO will:
A great recruiter. Here are 2 (of many) success stories:
Case study #1: a recruiter in an all-white male firm, had hiring managers interview 3-4 diverse candidates before any white male candidates. As the firm scaled, diversity increased naturally to 35% of the employee base in ~18 months without the firm setting any DEI mandates or targets.
Case study #2: a Fortune 500 inhouse recruiter placed diverse candidates in several key leadership positions. In turn, they built their teams out of their networks, which improved overall diversity, but led to some teams being all one gender/race/sexual orientation. People hire who they know. White male managers, with all-white male teams, started complaining. No Comment.
However, the global recruiting team enhanced their processes with 2 simple steps:
1) Started sharing resumes & candidates who were great (but did not get an offer for a specific role) across teams/divisions,
2) Incented employees to refer candidates to other teams to create a more diverse applicant pool. Over 12 months, this not only improved the diversity in each team and firmwide, but it reduced the time to fill open req's across the board.
An excellent recruiter is critical to the success of business scaling and strategic transformation.
A– If you want to have a deep understanding of your clients’ product/service needs, your leadership/employee demographics should mirror that of your target clients, especially if your target audience is global. I’ve witnessed exponential increases in pitch win and customer satisfaction rates just by adding sales/service people to the team who are bi/trilingual or have lived/worked in multiple countries
B– Diversity of thought is best practice because it reduces the risk of failure or just missing the mark in product/service launches and advertising campaigns
Read: https://leaddev.com/tech/lets-mitigate-bias-tech https://www.businessinsider.com/15-worst-ads-of-the-decade-2010-2019-2019-12#pepsis-live-for-now-2017-9
This is extremely common in B2C and B2B sales. As CEO or Head of Sales, however, it is your job to protect the firm's top/bottom line, and the value of your brand. Ask your team these 5 questions:
1) Do you have the best product in the space? Yes = a premium price is justified
2) Will your product/service drive a clear ROI/cost savings in a predictable period of time? If Yes, focus on buyer education in parallel with streamlining implementation and shortening the payback period
3) Are competitors undercutting your pricing? How and Why?
—Subpar product/service. Their buyers are not your target market
—“Good enough” product/service. If a large segment of buyers want fewer features for less, consider tiering your offering by adding a scaled down product/service at a lower price
—Buying market share. This is a short term strategy - ultimately they will have to raise prices, unless they are operating leaner, structuring pricing with back-end or “surprise” fees, or generating revenue from ancillary services that aren’t evident in their initial contract pricing. Do your homework and arm your salespeople with content to educate buyers on why your product/service is the best choice and why competitor prices aren’t lower on an all-in basis.
—Subsidizing pricing with investor money. Can competitors afford to build a superior product/service while they’re buying market share? If yes, prepare. If no, hold tight on your pricing strategy.
4) Will cutting pricing on one deal hurt the firm’s overall profitability or set a new, lower price threshold in the market? Can you offer guaranteed lower pricing on a future renewal contract, instead of cutting pricing on the initial contract?
5) Is sales compensation aligned to maximizing revenues (net, not gross) and profits for the firm?
Correctly pricing your offering is a critical component of strategy execution, strategic transformation, and business scaling.
A: Leverage, planning and structure help executives optimize time allocation. This is easier to achieve in more mature organizations, though startup executives can use the framework to begin building towards best practices as you scale.
Leverage - Hire/empower an executive admin/chief of staff to be your gatekeeper. A great EA will exponentially improve you/your team's productivity. Give them access to your inbox with instructions on how to manage vs. escalate. Authorize EA to ask for meeting agendas/objectives before scheduling, postpone if required pre-reading materials aren’t sent 48+ hours in advance, and allocate time frames as appropriate (15 min. for catch-ups vs. 2-3 hours for brainstorming/problem-solving). Note: leverage for all executives is critical to business scaling
Planning - plan out the week, month, quarter, year. Publish an estimated schedule (Board, budget/planning, Investor presentations, conferences, etc.) and work backward to determine target due dates for each content contributor. Build in time to discuss, review/revise, and authorize EA to hold people accountable/chase. Note: this is critical to strategy execution
Structure - Establish guidelines on what requires a meeting vs. your input/response. Create a culture where employees feel empowered to make decisions, and just as satisfied with you reading their FYI and responding via email/Slack as an in-person meeting.
Ask teams to send:
a) agendas (bullet point level is fine) in advance with items tagged as FYI vs. Need input/decision, and
b) post-meeting recap of to-do’s and decisions taken
This serves multiple purposes. Agendas let you determine if a meeting/discussion is needed, adjust time allocation/attendee list, skip discussion of FYIs, and keep communication flowing when meetings get canceled or delayed. Recaps provide a quick way to track history (memories are short) or request status updates. EA should confirm all meetings to ensure they are still needed - teams should be comfortable shortening/postponing/canceling if items have been discussed or need more analysis.
Structure/Time-blocking - this generic framework will vary based on company stage/focus:
--Electronic Comms - 2-4 blocks/day. Tip - schedule non-urgent sends for Monday 8 am their time zone or after an upcoming launch so your team does not get unnecessarily distracted
--Strategy/Anticipation - 2 blocks/week
--Recruiting - 2-5 hours/week
--External: 1-3 days/week for fundraising, PR/speaking, sales & 1-3 client meetings/week
--Bi/Weekly 1:1s with direct reports
--Quarterly/Semi-annual Skip level 1:1s
--Employees - monthly/quarterly All Hands + small group lunches throughout year
--Ad Hoc drop-ins on Team/Division meetings upon request/as schedule permits
It is 100% management’s responsibility to create the vision and orchestrate all of the resources to deliver. When nothing is getting done it’s because there is a breakdown in understanding (priorities, focus, dependencies), communication (up, down, across), or expectations (ability, quality, time.) Ask the following questions:
WHERE - where do you want to be in 6-12 months vs. 3 years? Is the vision clear? Does every employee understand it? Can they explain it and evangelize to prospective clients or hires?
WHAT - what must happen to achieve the vision? Map out tasks/projects, sequence, dependencies. Is it realistic? Do teams understand the priorities-firm, team, individual? Do people have the information to make daily decisions on where to focus/spend time?
WHEN - when does each task/project need to be delivered? Are there regulatory or contractual commitments? Do you have enough resources/time to complete? If not, what can you reassign/reallocate, postpone or cancel?
HOW - Buy vs. build. Use vendors and contractors to fill non-core gaps
WHO - do you have the right people? Do they have the skills, experience and attitude to successfully deliver on their assigned tasks/projects? Read Good to Great by Jim Collins and Give Away Your Legos by Molly Graham
WHY - why are things going well? Recognize and replicate. Not? What is in/out of your control? The issue(s) lie in the what, when, who, where or how.
Answering these questions are key to strategy execution and successfully achieving a strategic transformation
1) Sales teams are overly optimistic
2) The B2B purchasing cycle from initial prospect meeting to contract signing to revenue generation can take 6-24+ months depending on the size/complexity of the contract or prospect
Ask your team the following questions and incorporate them into your pipeline/revenue forecasting. Most firms do not have a rigorous process to manage each stage, and therefore forecasts on pipeline conversion rates and time to revenue are often inaccurate.
a) Segmentation/Targeting - do prospects need your product/service? When? Are they using a competitive product - when does that contract end?
b) Does sales have the right relationships? Users, decision-makers, budget-owner(s), authorized signatory on the contract? What happens if the contact leaves their firm or changes roles? What happens if your salesperson leaves your firm?
c) How many educational sessions/demos are required for prospects to understand your offering? How can you shorten this?
d) Do sales marketing/support materials anticipate and address questions that will be asked by each constituency - CTO, CISO, CFO, GC, CCO, CMO, Support, end users, etc.?
e) Budget process - Does the prospect have funds this year? If not, can you sign/implement this year, and invoice next year? When does the fiscal year end?
f) What is the prospect’s RFP process? (number of stakeholders, committee approvals/timing, budget allowance/timing)
g) What is your revenue model - upfront, usage, or time-based (monthly, quarterly, annual) fees? If usage, how long will it take to implement/launch your product/service before you generate revenues? Does your prospect have resources available for implementation?
h) Is your CRM system tracking the right information? Is sales or your prospect confirming key dates - contract review/signing/implementation/launch?
Research. You want to find companies that are getting funded, actively hiring, have a competitive edge and a leadership team with previous successes. Many investors/consultants/analysts write white papers that map out the industry landscape with key insights on strengths and positioning- fintech, healthtech, retail, consumer goods, AI, etc. Follow the firm on LinkedIn and check their website regularly for new insights.
... the pay or title. How do I ask for a promotion/raise?
1 - Understand that firms may limit the number of promotions per department, title grade, or compensation band per year. Not every person who deserves to be promoted in a given year will get promoted, especially in large firms.
2 - Demonstrate to your boss that you have already been operating at the level above yours. Memories are short. Do track all of your deliverables in a Google Doc throughout the year, and save any “thank you/great job” emails you receive from colleagues, clients, and investors to remind yourself how much you contributed over the past year - not just the last 2 months. Do ask for a promotion/raise based on your performance. Don’t ask for a promotion/raise because of your personal life. It seems obvious, but I’ve witnessed multiple employees state, “You can’t expect me to do my job well without giving me a promotion/$50k+ raise to pay for X (nanny, divorce, etc.)”
3 - If you can only have the title or money - go for the money. If your boss/division lacks the open spots/power to get you promoted, tell them you want to be paid for the value you deliver - it’s more important than a title. This works because there is an overlap in compensation bands. An average Level A is often paid less than a rockstar Level B.
4 - Do ask your boss for a) a path to promotion in a set timeframe. This may include new responsibilities, a new role/lateral transfer, or an off-cycle promotion; b) opportunities to interact with members of the compensation/promotion committees.