An interesting article in INC magazine by Joel Spolsky of Fog Creek Software. Joel makes a comparison of companies that grow slow - say 40-50% per year versus a competitor that is growing much faster. Examples include Oracle and Microcosft, but just think about Comcast, Ma Bell and Windstream.
Slow growth against a faster growing competitor could wipe you out. We actually see that dial-up ISP's. GlobalPOP's, YNP, AOL and ELN are just riding the cash till the end.
In DSL, we saw it with the FISPA ISP's who at one time commanded over 33K lines in the Southeast. However, their growth stalled - mainly due to a lack of sales effort and a greedy vendor, but it does prove the point. Grow or die.
Another example is broadband - cable versus DSL. It became a consumer triple play game, but is now spilling over into B2B bundles. Growth or Death.
How do you get Growth? Via Sales.
"The bottom line is, we just don't do enough selling. I've been working on the assumption that a product naturally creates demand for itself and the sales team just helps fulfill that demand. But I've realized that I have things backward. I've come to understand that a sales team drives demand," Joel Spolsky remarks.
How are you marketing your company?
March 23, 2010 @ 9:30 in Orlando: Sales Management 101 seminar. Register now!
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