Sioux Falls (Guest post by June and Bobby George.) It's difficult to describe how we work together. It's more of an intuition, or a posture, than anything else. Nonetheless, we thought we'd share a few thoughts on the process, how we envision our collaboration, charting out the strengths just as much as the weaknesses. We'll also sprinkle in a little bit of the "why," which is, in many respects, the driving catalyst … read more

Lincoln (Guest post by Deana Ward.) Working with family and friends—like anything in life—can be completely awesome or totally awful. Over the course of my career, I've experienced both extremes (and everything in between). Currently, Gear Five Studio is a Petri dish for personal work relationships. My brother and I are business partners. Our art director is married to one of our graphic designers. Our sales guy and marketing assistant are siblings. Said sales guy dates our art director’s sister. Our newest developer is a close buddy of the same sales guy. Last week I ran an anonymous in-house survey … read more

Lincoln (Guest post by Stephanie Jarrett.) My husband Paul and I have put our marriage to the test more than a few times. We've worked at ad agencies together, we've been poor together and we’ve moved cross-country more than once. Each time after moving furniture into a new apartment, in a new city, I've looked at Paul as we sit amongst our packed garbage bags and say, "We did it! And we hardly even argued." And Paul's common response is "If that's the hardest challenge we face, our lives will be cake." I used to think that moving, creating a home or financial strife were some of the toughest tests … read more

Lincoln (Guest post by John Wirtz.) I'll never forget the most intimidating spreadsheet I ever had to face. It was winter 2009, and this piece of paper was just sitting there on my desk staring at me. It wasn't our sales goals for the year. It wasn't a list of the hairiest bugs in Hudl. It wasn't our steadily-decreasing statement of cash flows. It was a list of head football coach names, email addresses, and phone numbers from high schools here in Lincoln, Neb., and it was scaring the hell out of me. | Hudl in winter 2009: Going into the 2008 football season, our Hudl video analysis system was up and running … read more

Des Moines (Guest post by Mike Colwell.) Selling to businesses (B2B) can be hard but I will argue it can be very rewarding. I gained my selling to business experiences in the 80s and early 90s with a company called Norand Data Systems out of Cedar Rapids Iowa. We were selling new technologies (mobile and wireless computing) to established and mostly lethargic large corporations around the world. Based on those experiences, here are six things I think are critical to successful selling to businesses. 1. Sell on hard ROI. What is hard ROI? It is a return on investment that eliminates a budget item … read more

Lincoln (Guest post by Collin Caneva.) I just completed testing for a new fitness boot camp. I'm not sharing this with you to brag, but because sales and this experience go hand-in-hand. To many people, "selling" is a dirty word. Of course every business needs sales, but the sales process is where the negative tone sometimes comes to mind. Who hasn't had an experience with a pushy, know-it-all salesman that seems numb to the word "no"? You say "no," but it seems like he/she hears "yeah, maybe" and keeps pushing. Yuck. Whenever someone cold calls me and wants to meet, I instantly build … read more

Kansas City (Guest post by Kirk Hasenzahl.) There are a number of tremendous ideas and new startups in the Silicon Prairie these days. It is an exciting time to be a startup around here. In all my worldly travels as a startup founder (2 years worth), it amazes me that many of the most incredible ideas I hear consistently are missing a key part to the solution: sales. The goal, I believe, is that at some point you do this to generate cash flow. Right? Or am I missing something? Even if you start a non-profit; money creates jobs, growth, and helps the company accomplish whatever ... read more

Kansas City (Guest post by Nathan Benjamin.) I don't pretend to have a fail-proof recipe for a successful business, but I do know that for us, it's about purpose, the planet and a bunch of people who all see a baseball game where others see only a field. A recent study in The Wall Street Journal found two-thirds of people would take a pay cut to work for a company that focused on sustainability. Why? Because we want our lives, and our work, to matter. InvenQuery was created around an environmental mission, and we stay true to that. It infuses who we are, what we do and why we do it. … read more