Houston TeXchange 2011 Sales

1.
SUMMARY of Rob’s Remarks:
“Strategy & Growth in 2011.”
December 2, 2010
 Bulldog founded as a “demand marketing laboratory” with a belief that marketing initiatives have a
direct mathematical equation with sales.
 Companies that use marketing best practices such as real-time lead scoring and lead nurturing
generate 5.2X more results.
 Maximize the time your team has to sell thru an effective strategy.
Step #:1 Set Business Objectives for all and make marketing directly accountable for sales
including consequences. If you cannot measure it then don’t do it!
Step #2: Think like your customers. Understand and map (develop Buyer Personas and
Message Maps) that answer: why change, why now , why us?
Orient your company and its culture to answer the following;
 Why does the customer need my service/product?
 Why does the customer need this product/service from me?
 Why does the customer need my product/service now?
Step #3: Do lead routing and nurturing and sales support in real-time. Utilize lead scoring, real-
time routing and nurturing programs.
 Q: Where do you start?
A: For CEO’s the place to start is with the business objectives. Make marketing accountable through
salary, bonuses, and consequences, for ineffective performance.
Key Takeaway #1: Every organizations marketing and sales message must answer these three
questions:
1. Why does the customer need this product or service?
2. Why should they buy now?
3. Why buy from me or my company?
Key Takeaway :#2: If you cannot measure it; do not do it!

2.
Program Summary Recap for Houston TeXchange Meeting II:
Strategy & Growth in 2011.
The following is a recap of the Houston TeXchange meeting held December 2nd, 2010 presented by the
Houston TeXchange Board of Advisors with guest speaker Rob Solomon, CEO & Founder Bulldog
Solutions presenting “Strategy & Growth in 2011”.
SUMMARY of Rob’s Remarks: Strategy & Growth in 2011.
 Bulldog founded as a “demand marketing laboratory” with a belief that marketing
initiatives have a direct mathematical equation with sales.
 Companies that use the following marketing best practices generate 5.2X more results.
Have a Strategy, Measure Everything & Use an Integrated Approach:
Creating Buyer Personas and Messages Maps:

3.
“Growth Options & Expansion Strategies”
Houston TeXchange Event Recap Summary for Thursday February 24th, 2011.
Key Takeaway:
 Focus on your core business before expanding or acquiring revenues.
Panel Summary Recap Notes:
Lessons Learned from Jack Barry:
a) The major point was "Master your Core Business"; do this or you cannot change or grow and as
we all know, change or die. Grow organically.
b) Get the right people in the right positions in your company – never can be reminder of that enough
times – follow your hiring process and stick to your position profile
c) Make sure that your customers know your playbook
d) Differentiate by focusing on your customer's need and, as this need and ultimate use of your
product may be different than what you imagine, you have to seek that information through careful
customer interview and examination.
e) Think long and but act short: accomplish 5 year plans with 6 month tactics that watch cash and
personnel always changing (differentiating) to meet customer need rather than
holding stubbornly to the wrong model be it product, pricing or people.
f) As yourself: What cannot be duplicated? This is the key to growing.
g) Jack’s 3 Principles:
a. The customer is your greatest asset. Know them better than they know themselves.
b. Strength is integration of all your people, resources, employees, customers, stakeholder’s
suppliers.
c. Stakeholder’s deserve a return.
Lessons Learned from Houston Lane:
 Once a business has mastered its core business, it has three options for growth including numerous
acquisition options. Numerous acquisition opportunities can help you branch out into new products,
solutions, customer segments or markets.
 Good executives maintain and manage their cores. If you can “take off 2 days” to expand then you
should evaluate your expansion and acquisition opportunities; otherwise focus on your core
business.
Lessons Learned from Bill Leake:
 Whether you go Direct or Indirect via channels should be driven by both your customersyou’re your
maturity; but keep in mind that you want to “Exploit market opportunities.”
 Only do marketing that is measurable.
 New sales rep is going to cost you $250k a year, you can do a lot of effective direct and indirect
marketing for the price of one sales person.
 Killer Marketing Tactics: Use Behavioral Targeting to pursue visitors to your website. Index
retargeting as a strategy for visitors to your website is a great tool for marketing. Tools such as
HubSpot and webstats.com to pinpoint whom is visiting your website and how-to follow-up with
them proactively.
 Book Recommendation from Bill Leake titled “Selling the Wheel”. http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Wheel-
Choosing-Company-Customers/dp/0684856018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298903490&sr=8-1

4.
 Maximize the time your team has to sell thru an effective strategy.
Step #:1 Set Business Objectives for all and make marketing directly accountable for
sales including consequences. If you cannot measure it then don’t do it!
Step #2: Think like your customers. Understand and map (develop Buyer Personas and
Message Maps) that answer: why change, why now , why us?
Orient your company and its culture to answer the following;
 Why does the customer need my service/product?
 Why does the customer need this product/service from me?
 Why does the customer need my product/service now?
Step #3: Do lead routing and nurturing and sales support in real-time. Utilize lead
scoring, real-time routing and nurturing programs.
 Q: Where do you start?
A: For CEO’s the place to start is with the business objectives. Make marketing
accountable through salary, bonuses, and consequences, for ineffective performance.
Table Discussion Takeaways & Key Issues to Consider:
I. We need to do a better job leveraging the tools and data that we have today as well
as add lead routing, analytics, and nurturing of all leads and prospects. It is imperative
to build real-time nurturing connections to sales. Utilize tracking scripts and CTAs
(call-to-actions) to drive tactical results. If you do not know how to effectively do this
get help.
II. Growth requires an executive commitment to alignment marketing and sales, as a
cohesive activity/function. Nothing drives alignment like compensation, role clarity,
accountablilty and consequences.
III. Senior executives have to focus on and understand the customers profile and buying
behavior. Our manta: Be in the mind of the client. Have to change the mindset from
a product centric to a buyer centric approach orientation.
The mission of Houston TeXchange is to provide a relevant resource and knowledge
network to enable executives of technology businesses in the creation of wealth and
shareholder value by building sustainable business models.

5. Q: What Are Your Growth Options?
A: The Three Wedges of Growth.
Double in five years New capabilities,
brands, vendor
relationships,
20%+% geographies
Each wedge
12% ‐ 15% requires
New products, new increased
customers, or both, aptitude
4%
4% ‐ 6% growth through
increased volumes
Same products to same
customers, growth
through price increases
“A&I i a recommended strategy f growth
is d d t t for th
companies that have proven portfolio and
distribution.”
“A&I Excellence” insures budgeted pro forma
forecasts are made into business realizations.”

6. Q: What is Your Growth Strategy?
Should you consider
q
acquisitions?
My organization has No
the first two
“wedges” down
g
1. Get financing squared away Yes
1. Identify the strategic initiatives
with the lowest cost/risk and
2. Come to a natural stopping Yes greatest benefit
place on major projects
place on major projects I can tolerate some
I can tolerate some
3. Put the principles into risk to drive growth 2. Use the “four P’s” to guide
practice implementation
No
1. Use the “four P’s” to drive
continual improvement in the
core
2. Be judicious in how hard you
push the second wedge

7.
Table Discussion Takeaways & Key Issues to Consider:
I. The dramatic change in liquidity is requiring leadership changes and reengineering of
the business process.
II. “Feet on the street” models are not fundable and do not work as well in this economy.
Requires transition to a portfolio driven distribution venue including channel
distribution, partnering and strategic alliances..
III. Constant migration points and transition plateaus exist for companies and leaders and
must be managed effectively.
IV. Executives need to take a BOARD level perspective
 Get Outside Perspectives.
 “I don’t want to manage and I don’t want to be managed” will result in failure.
 View the business as an investor, not from an operators view.
Administration RECAP:
Chairman’s remarks included, introducing Houston TeXchange, mission, values and thanking
the sponsors.
 The mission of Houston TeXchange is to provide a relevant resource and knowledge network to
enable executives of technology businesses in the creation of wealth and shareholder value by
building sustainable business models.
Announcement of the upcoming next event:
Thursday, December 2nd at The Briar Club at 6pm: “Strategy & Growth in 2011”
presented by Rob Solomon, CEO of Bulldog Solutions.
Rob will discuss strategy development and implementation best practices including Go-To
Market Venues and Techniques for Revenue Generation. Rob will address the following three
challenges:
1. How GoToMarket today needs to be different versus years past. i.e. what are the
surefire strategies to deploy in 2011 for technology enabled businesses?
2. What are the killer tactics to deploy in 2011?
3. What are the fundamental management skills required for this “New Economy.”

8. Survey Question: What skill areas are executives most uncomfortable?
Success in this “New Economy” will be a result of increased skill and effectiveness of
our Executives. Business Processes must remove people dependency and must
create scalability i order t i
t l bilit in d to increase th probability of success.
the b bilit f

9. Reengineer Your Product Offerings & Go-To-Market
• A “Portfolio” of Products Supporting the Strategy is Required
Required.
– Creates Differentiation in the Market
• Develop Marketing Assets.
– Profile & targeted customers identified
g
– Manage & develop marketing assets
– Brand equities are key
• Develop Processes & Precise Measurements for the “Go -to- Market” Activities.
• Must have a “Portfolio of “Routes to Market.”
– Alternative Distribution
– Channel & Partnering
– Direct Sales
– Other
• Business Models that are dependent on “Feet on the Street” are “Old School.”
– Will Accelerate Failure
– Unaffordable & Institutional Investors will not fund
• Must Develop Recurring Revenues Streams: Contractual Revenues.
– A critical element of the business model requirements for the new economy
How does your company “stack up”? Change is required to survive!

10. Optimize & Align Your Business Processes to This Economy
Focus & Depend More on Processes: Not People
• Process Before People = ↑ Productivity
• Process Over People = ↑ Quality
• Process Over People = ↑ Business Intelligence & Management Science
• Trained & Effective People Over Process = Best of Breed Performance
• Process + People + Technology = Wealth Creation
• Scalability & Operating Leverage will Attract Institutional Capital
Outsource Until Scale is Achieved
• What are you outsourcing? Why? If Not; Why Not?
Implement Cross Functional Measures: What You Can Measure You Can Improve!!
Identify Process Needs and Improvement Areas
Implement New Processes for Scalability
Connect the ‘CSO’ (Chief Strategy Officer) to Operating Management
What business processes are you improving and why?
How will you measure the effectiveness of the new processes ?
processes.?