Pamela Peterson is an experienced strategy, sales and marketing professional who has brought her experience and knowledge to the University of Nebraska Omaha as a professor. Pamela is also one of the three managing partners of Soldes Partners growth strategy advisory firm.
Sales are vital to the success of a startup, however many college course offerings in entrepreneurship leave out the significance of the sales function in the early stages of a company. Pamela believes that the ability to sell is the key differentiator between success and failure in a startup. Why are sales so important in a startup?
– Credibility: The first customer gives you credibility in the marketplace and builds brand equity.
– Feedback: Feedback from buyers/users provides insight which allows you to pivot and reposition or redesign the product.
– Cash Flow: Many startups fail because of a negative cash flow and little to no revenue to help the company move forward.
2013 CEO National Conference
Pamela Peterson and Pamela Shields will be co-hosting a workshop with young entrepreneur and CEO alum Keith Fix. The workshop will be held at the upcoming 2013 CEO National Conference in Chicago, which will be held October 31 – November 2. Over 1,000 students from 150 colleges and universities will be in attendance for the three day event. Why Effective Selling is Critical in the Long-term Success of Your Startup will be an interactive workshop that is designed to address the challenges entrepreneurs face when selling a new product or service.
The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) is a nonprofit organization that creates and inspires young entrepreneurs throughout North America and beyond. The CEO National Conference is an annual event that features hands-on workshops, chapter awards, the National Elevator Pitch Competition, keynote sessions, networking opportunities, and much more. To find out more information about the event and to register, visit the registration website here, and also visit www.c-e-o.org.
Listen to the full interview with Pamela Peterson here!
Interview Highlights
– Details on their session at the 2013 CEO National Conference and what students can expect to take away from the session.
– Why it’s important to select a specific target market when selling your product: (when selecting all target markets or several broad markets) “You spread yourself so wide you that you are really not capturing the knowledge that you need to make those effective decisions on positioning the product to a clearly defined segment of prospective buyers.”
– How spending too much time defining the product and writing a lengthy business plan can often hurt a startup.
– The mistakes that young entrepreneurs often make in regards to their startups and sales.
– Best piece of advice for young entrepreneurs: “Constantly test the product hypothesis.” What is it about your product that will trigger a buying decision?