This month we’re pivoting our focus to help those of you who are suffering from what is clearly “pandemic paralysis.” We are collectively in a time of “business unusual” which is causing a lot of uncertainty and business volatility.

Having helmed businesses that survived the dot com crash of 2001, and the massive economic downturn from 2007 - 2009, here are my three best pieces of advice to help you weather this pandemic storm.

One of the most important relationships for a founder, and at times the most tenuous, is the one with their investors. Whether you’ve raised money from friends and family, angel investors, or a Venture fund, here are our top three strategies for building and maintaining strong relationships.

You have $100. You can either acquire 4 new customers or keep 20 of the ones you have. Which would you do?

Some of you will hedge, “Well, it depends on the customers.” True. “How much are the new customers worth?” Valid point. Simple example aside, new customer acquisition can run at least 5x more than the cost of retaining existing clients. And yet, companies spend considerable time, energy and resources on new customer acquisition, often relegating retention efforts to the back burner.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur going out to look for funding in Q1 or a sales person looking to drive higher conversion rates in 2020, pitch decks are paramount to whether you close a round or a sale. Here are our top tips for successful pitching.

Whether you’re a founder at a growing startup thinking about a Series A financing, or an executive team looking to capitalize on the business you’ve built over the last 10 years, there’s one foundational thing you should prioritize this year if you want to take your company to the next level: accurate historical and projected financials.

The number one question posed to us at ScaleHouse by the founders and executive teams we work with is “what is my company worth?” Although we can estimate valuation ranges through methods like discounted cash flow, comparable company and precedent transaction analysis, what a company may be worth (and to whom!) is highly nuanced. Markets and buyers are in constant flux. Rather than worrying about the valuation of your business today, we encourage firms to focus on growth via the following four strategies that historically drive higher valuations, regardless of market fluctuations.

Last month I was lucky enough to spend the day with the Qualtrics team in Provo, Utah, videotaping a Master Session on optimizing brand experience.

The competition to find, and land, top-notch sales talent is as fierce as the push to meet Q4 numbers. Between the formalized open positions and the “always looking for good talent” opportunities, if you’re a successful sales professional, the world is your oyster. If you happen to be on the managerial side of the equation, life may not seem as rosy. With the cost of mis-hiring a sales rep costing you well into the six-figure range, it’s crucial you make an informed, but expedient, decision. 

At ESOMAR Congress in September we hosted a main stage panel discussion with industry leaders driving M&A activity in the marketing insights and technology vertical on “Key Drivers of Investment and M&A Activity in Market Research.”

Q4 is known for the frenetic pace that inevitably comes with the final push to meet (and exceed!) annual goals. Amidst the frenzy, we need to pull ourselves out of the weeds of the current plan to focus on creating next year’s plan. Short on time, many leaders short-change the planning process, committing a few cardinal sins that perpetuate the planning-to-scrambling cycle.