Dave Daniels

When a launch objective includes revenue, start there and work backwards. For a revenue example of $10M, I'd estimate the close rate of an average deal and the average deal size, and do the math. If I expect the close rate to be 20% I will need a pipeline of $50M. If the average deal is $50K I kn...more

Enablement is the act of getting people ready for something. In this case preparing for launching a product. Your executive team’s expectation is that the organization will be able to market, sell, deliver, and support the product being launched. Too often launch readiness activities are plague...more

Assuming you have a good product-market fit, the challenges vary by the size and scope of an organization. Small companies have fewer moving parts than big companies, but the challenges are amazingly similar. Challenge #1 - Communication Getting everyone on the same page, using a standard set o...more

I start with the objectives of the launch and work from there. I look for advantages that can be leveraged and obstacles that need to be removed. I assign functional areas (e.g. Sales, Finance, Legal) to each launch member of my launch team. One of their primary responsibilities is to identify re...more

Look at it through the lens of a salesperson. How much do they believe they need to be involved? While it's a lofty goal to have 100% support from your sales team, it's rarely possible. Unless, of course, you only have one product. Imagine if you were a salesperson in a company with dozens or hun...more

Check out the BrainKraft Product Launch Framework. It could be helpful in your journey. A launch framework differs from a launch checklist in how prescriptive each are. Frameworks provide structure and direction, often where there are many unknowns that need to be identified and addressed. Checkl...more

Connect the name of the new category with something familiar to your market: Horses + Carriages => Horseless Carriage => Automobile. And because Sharebird says my answer is too short, I will add this sentence to comply. Apparently, the answer needs to be 300 words or more so I'll keep typing gibb...more

Product positioning/value propositions/messages are developed for people (personas) in markets. The first step is to identify the personas that influence a buying decision for your products. When you understand that, you can dive into the problems each persona is experiencing and develop a value ...more

The first think you need to recognize is how different the roles are (not just the job titles). Someone in a sales role deals with 1 to 1 issues everyday. You have a need and I have a solution. I address your need and move on to the next one. Customer support is another example of a 1 to 1 role. ...more

30 days - Learn the market and competitive landscape. Visit as many customers and non-customers as possible. Read every Win/Loss report you can get your hands on. Talk to as many sales reps as possible. Use the Steve Jobs line of questioning: "What's working here?" "What's not working here?" Warn...more