1. Marketing and Selling you Idea Tales from a Life Science Entrepreneur

2. Technical specification Market specification Beta validation
a new product is a multi-staged process
Product proposal
Feasibility review
Technical specification
Market specification
Beta validation
Product approval
Release to market
Release for sale
Market surveillance
Product iteration
Marketing function involved at every stage of the process
Sales cannot begin and its outcome is conjoined with marketing

3. PRE SALES: Your product values
What is your offer and why do you think customers will care?

4. Product Values:
What are the key technical features?
What are the key customer benefits?
What is the Unique Selling Point (USP)?
How, where, when will it be used?
What does it say about the company?

5. PRE SALES: Meeting customer needs
Test your assumptions. Do customers really care about what you are offering?

6. Meeting Customer Needs:
Key success factors SWOT, do we have the right product?
What are the current alternatives?
What is missing from the offer?
What will customers find most compelling?
What is the right business model?

7. PRE SALES: Market opportunity
Given the environment, the customer need and your relative market attractiveness, what is the scope of the opportunity?

8. Market opportunity: Market model and levers
TAM
Total potential users (e.g. # labs)
% of market capable of accessing solution
SAM
% of market using solution or substitute
Sales per user per term
Revenue
Impact of competitors
Impact of market awareness
Perceived need
Barriers to adoption

9. SALES STAGE: Strategic marketing
What is your strategy to seize the opportunity?

10. Strategic Marketing: The product lifecycle
Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Laggards
Price
# of customers
The Chasm
Technology validation
Early revenue generation
Low market penetration
Low brand presence
Uneven revenue
Premium pricing
Expanded applications of technology
High market penetration
Strong brand presence
Smooth revenue generation
Optimal price/revenue point
Next generation product introduction
Engineered market cannibalization
Commodity pricing

11. SALES STAGE: Tactical marketing
What tactics will you use to implement your go-to-market strategy?

12. Program: Demand Creation
Tactical Marketing: The Sales Funnel
Program: Reputation
Market Intelligence
Program:
Program: Demand Creation
Sales Enablement
Program:
Marketing Playbooks

13. Consistent professional branding Web presence
Tactical Marketing: Reputation building
Clear brand persona
Consistent professional branding
Web presence
Raising awareness through
Advertising
Social media
Tradeshow presence
Media articles
PR activities

14. Customer-led social media Peer-to-peer marketing KOL adoption
Tactical Marketing: Demand creation
Targeted marketing
Customer-led social media
Peer-to-peer marketing
KOL adoption
High-value publications
High-value content-driving marketing (e.g. webinars)

15. Tailored messaging by segment/ stage of buying cycle
Tactical Marketing: Sales enablement
Tailored messaging by segment/ stage of buying cycle
Precision lead identification
Collaterals
Customer education materials
Objection handling guidance
Marketing-qualified lead process

16. Sales enablement: Communication
Messaging guide
Simple, clear positioning on company and offer
Questioning guide
Short list of open-ended questions
Overcoming objections
List of common objections with prepared responses
Sales speaks with customers
Feeds back interactions/ objections to marketing
Marketing updates messaging, questioning and objection guides
Marketing provides updated guides to sales

17. DIRECT SALES
How you align the needs of your customer to your product and organization values creating a win-win situation?

18. Sales: targeting the right people
A buying centre includes all members of the purchasing organisation who play any of six roles in the purchase process:
INITIATOR first identifies the need to buy a particular product or service to solve an organisational problem;
INFLUENCER (their) views influence the buying centre's buyers and deciders;
DECIDER ultimately approves all or any part of the entire buying decision -- whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, and where to buy;
BUYER holds the formal authority to select the supplier and to arrange terms of condition;
USER consumes or uses the product or service;
GATEKEEPER controls information or access or both, to decision makers and influencers.

19. Product knowledge Prospecting The approach Needs assessment
Sales is about building the confidence of your customer so that the aspiration of buying will overcome the fear of cost, negative press etc
Product knowledge
Prospecting
The approach
Needs assessment
The presentation
The close
Follow-up
Should be a continuous process!

20. SALES STAGE: Product knowledge
You need to understand the features and benefits, USPs, competitive landscape, customer environment in detail

21. SALES STAGE: Prospecting
You need to mine your own, colleagues, customer networks for potential lead as well as fielding leads from marketing

22. SALES STAGE: The approach
You need to understand the working environment, patterns of your target and provide clear, concise and targeted information that aligns the product with their specific needs

23. SALES STAGE: Needs assessment
You need to gather specific information about the needs of the customer (e.g. deliverables, milestones, timelines and budget) so you can build a proposal that will enable you to win

24. SALES STAGE: The presentation
You need to be able to convince your target customer that you have the technology, infrastructure and track-record to deliver and support the product

25. SALES STAGE: The presentation
You need to be able to convince your target customer that you have the technology, infrastructure and track-record to deliver and support the product

26. SALES STAGE: The close
You need to be able to align the deal structure and economics to the value proposition of the product to the customer

27. SALES STAGE: Follow-up
You need to continue to build confidence in your product and company with close follow-up. This is the start of the next sales cycle

28. SALES STAGE: Forecasting
Sales Category
Sales Definition
Finance Risk Adjustment for Cash Flow
External Reporting
Lost
Deal lost completely. If it is timing or certainty issue it should be downgraded rather than removed. Key to track what stage it was lost from and identify root cause 0%
Prospect
Qualified lead with quotation/financial terms discussed and a >50% chance of closing the deal
Outlook
Discussion of details of proposal and a >75% chance of closing
75%
Legal
Final terms and legals agreed >90% chance of closing
90%
Signed
Contract\ PO complete and with the finance team
100%
Also referred to as Sales Order Book

29. Accurate sales forecasting is essential for managing the sales process

30. Dr Darrin M. Disley
CEO & Serial Entrepreneur