CONTENTS
SURVEYS
Shopping Cart Abandon Rates
Electronic Distribution Tips & Techniques
Trialware Conversion Rates
Benchmarks: Upgrade Pricing.
Benchmarks: Sales & Marketing Cost Ratios
Benchmarks: Web Lead Generation
How To Look More Trustworthy
Benchmarks: Days Sales Outstanding
Benchmarks: Chief Sales Officer Compensation
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company Sales Executives
Benchmarks: CMO Compensation
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company CMOs
Benchmarks: Services Margins
The Top 50: Profit Margins on Services
Benchmarks: Services Margins and Contributions
The Top 50: Services Margins and Contributions
The Top 50: Profit Margins on Services
Benchmarks: Software Company Websites and RSS
Benchmarks: Software Companies and Business Blogging
Benchmarks: Customer Concerns Surveys Best Practices
PRICING AND LICENSING
Benchmarks: Sales & Marketing Staffing
How To Set Better Prices
Maintenance Pricing Trends
Use This Calculator To Set Software Services Rates
Volume Discounts: Compare, Then Try These Tricks
Site And Corporate Licenses; How To Say “No” Nicely
“Exceptional Guarantees”
How - And When - You Should Boost Your Prices
Is A Big Deal Worth A Big Discount?
How Do Your Support Fees Stack Up?
Reward Loyalty With Upgrade Pricing
How To Establish Software Prices
Help For Frequent Deal Discounters
The Autodesk Subscription License
Build Support Revs With Multi-Choice Menu Pricing
“One World, One Price” Grows In ISV Acceptance
Volume Licensing: “Make It Easy For Buyers”
A Service Pricing Checklist
How Long Is Your License Term?
Do Your Software Licenses Kill Future Sales?
How Deeply Should You Cut Prices?
How Do Software CEOs Set Product Prices?
Set Your Service Rates For Bigger Profits
Take The Guesswork Out Of Software Price Hikes?
Tips To Control Your Prices Overseas
What Should You Charge For Support?
Services Fees: Raise Your Rates!
How To Set Your Service Rates — Profitably
Maintenance Prices — Are You On Target?
Don’t Be Too Quick To License Sites
New Rules On The Road To Revenue Recognition
Pricing Strategies For Software Bundles
Pricing And Value Approaches For Embedded Software
Keep Microsoft’s Pricing Changes In Perspective
Aligning Your Pricing Metrics With Customer Expectations
E-COMMERCE TIPS, TRICKS and CASE STUDIES
Four Ways To Stop Margin Erosion At The Point Of Sale
Software Shoppers With Comparison Sites
12 Ways To Boost Web Store Sales
How To Design A Better Store
How To Enhance The Transaction Process
ONLINE MARKETING
Five Ways To Maximize Your Net Gain
Keep Prospects Tuned In With A Web Privacy Policy
How To Craft A Great Privacy Policy
Building Effective Landing Pages
Checklists Banner Ad Components
Top Five Priorities For E-Marketing On A Budget
Free Samples
For Best Returns. Make Your Web Useful
Site Promotion
The Case For Lively Copy
Protect Your Identity On The Internet
CEO’s Marketing Vote: Web Sites Win, Print Ads Lose
Building Online Forums And Communities
Google Survey Part I: Google For Promotion
Google Survey Part II: Google As Competitive Environment
Strategies For Maximizing Google Adwords ROI
How To Build An Effective Affiliate Program
The Latest In Search Engine And Adwords Shenanigans
Video Helped The Software Startup
EMAIL MARKETING
Seth Grodin, Squidoo And Lenses
Hot Tips On Optimizing Adwords Campaigns
Second Life And Software: Two Avatars Meant For Each Other?
On Preserving Email Assets
11 Tips For High-Response. Cost-Effective E-LetterAds
Two Online Fixes To Increase Leads
How To Make Email Feel Personal
The Case For Email Newsletters
Email Marketing: Relationship, Not Permission
How To Create Better Email Newsletters
If You Don’t Have An Email Policy, Get One
An Alternate Take On Email And Internet Policies
Double Response Rates. Cut Costs With Opt-In Lists
WEB SITE MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION
Five Steps To A Flame-Free Email Campaign
Use Email On Your House Lists To Boost Retention
RSS As A Replacement For E-Mail?
New Tactics For Search Optimization
Four Ways To Escape The “Download Doldrums”
How To Get Maximum Mileage From Your URL
Don’t Let A Sick Web Site Sabotage Software Sales
Make Your Site Stand Out Among Favorites
Design & Navigation
MARKET RESEARCH, TRIALS and DEMOS
Does Your Web Site Kill Off Customers?
How To Choose The Right Search Tool For Your Web Site
Informal Market Research Sources
Eight Steps To A Killer Demo Trials
Use Surveys To Nail Your Marketing Message
Four Critical Success Factors For Your Products
STRATEGY I: BUDGETS, PROFITS AND GROWTH
You Lose $$$ When “Lite” Versions Aren’t Lite Enough
Why Every Presentation You’re Doing Today S***Ks
How To Calculate A More Credible ROI
Is Your Profit Margin Realistic?
Hot Growth Demands Cool Analysis
How Much Should You Spend On Marketing & Sales?
Blueprints For Growth
Build A Better Budget With Software Industry Data
Six Traits Of A Profitable Reseller Program
How To Sell Software To Corporate CIOs
How To Use Sales Outsourcing To Expand With Less Risk
Beat The Norm: Tips For Top-Notch Software Sales
Build A Better Software Marketing Budget
Calculate Your Prospects’ Software Budgets
Sizing A Total Marketing And Sales Budget From The Bottom Up
What To Do When The Marketing Gets Ugly
Keep Your “Troops” Supplied With Good Information
The Seven Deadly Sins Of Marketing New Software
Six Other Transgressions In Software Marketing
New Accounts Cost 25 To 40 Cents More Per Dollar
Timing Disruption
STRATEGY II: MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND METHODS
Advisory Board; How To Avoid Strategy Gridlock
Is Your Corporate Strategy A Boon Or A Boondoggle?
Let Customers Drive Your Marketing
Make Your Software “Stick” After It’s Sold
Sunset Scenarios: How To Manage Obsolete Products
Guy Kawasaki; On Avoiding “Death Magnets”
CASE STUDIES COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
How To Plot The Best Test Course
Small Firms Have A Promotional Edge
The Cosmi Retail Survival Formula
How A Little Guy Beat Bill, And What You Can Learn From It
Hidden Competition
Help! Microsoft Is Targeting My Business
States Of Seduction: How To Work With State CIOs
Winning Business Models: Evolve Or Die (Adobe)
Thriving In The Shadow Of The Beast
CHANNEL MARKETING
Checklist; Channel And Web Promotions
How To Build A Better VAR Network
Big Fish Swim In The Channels — Don’t Skimp Here
Make Your Consumer Software #1 With Retailers
Softletter Case Study: Training Your Resellers To Sell
Agents: A Different Partnering Approach
Channel Optimization: Are You Giving The Channel Too Much?
Value-Based Partnering Programs
On Selling Through Associations
Checklist: OEM Partnership Agreements
ALLIANCES
“Been There. Done That” Advice For Software Alliances
10-Point Plan To Bond With The Big Boys
How To Partner With Giants And Not Get Squashed
Strategic Partnerships: Invest Big, Win Big
BRANDING, NAMING, & MESSAGING
How To Structure A Marketing Alliance
The Developing OEM/ISV Trialware Model
Advisory Board; On Developing A Corporate Voice
How To Find Keywords That Matter
What’s A Good Name Worth?
Gorilla Branding
Names To Avoid
Stuck For A New Product Name?
What’s In Your Name?
Building Your Image With Third-Party Customers
TRADE SHOWS
Company Names Boost Brand Identity
How To Become A Power Panelist
Avoid These Trade Show Shipping Nightmare
Trade Shows: “Exhibit Memorability”
How To Get Better Press At Trade Shows
Trade Shows And The Web: What Do Leads Cost?
Try This Trade Show Success Formula
MARKET RESEARCH, TRIALS and DEMOS
Does Your Web Site Kill Off Customers?
How To Choose The Right Search Tool For Your Web Site
Informal Market Research Sources
Eight Steps To A Killer Demo Trials
Use Surveys To Nail Your Marketing Message
Four Critical Success Factors For Your Products
STRATEGY I: BUDGETS, PROFITS AND GROWTH
You Lose $$$ When “Lite” Versions Aren’t Lite Enough
Why Every Presentation You’re Doing Today S***Ks
How To Calculate A More Credible ROI
Is Your Profit Margin Realiles
How To Find Your Next Software Sales Hotshot
SERVICES
How To Sell More Services
Profit Metrics For Professional Services
How To Make Money On Maintenance
Service Marketing: The Relationship Factor
President’s Day Special!
Lifecycle Marketing
Referral Networks
Professional Services; How To Sell Trust
PROSPECTING
Tips For Increasing Software Maintenance Renewals
Restricted Web Sites Offer Quality Leads
Software Challenge Pulls In Prospects
How To Win Back “Lost” Software Customers
Look To The Web For Low-Cost Leads
Alan Cooper On Persuading Customers To Like You
Study Your Current Sales To Build Future Wins
How To Build A Better Sales Forecast
How To Win Large Contracts Bid Through RFPs”
Checklist: Hypothetical Customers
Do A Good Deed, Get A Good Lead
How Many Of Your Leads Become Software Sales?
Leads? Try Feeding Them
Make Conferences Work For Lead Generation
Sales Self-Sabotage: The Cause And The Cure
New And Interesting Reads
Aligning Sales And Marketing For Better Leads
POSITIONING
How To Steal Sales From Bigger Competitors
Checklist; The Elevator Speech
The Challenge Of Personalization
Which Sales Model Should You Follow?
How To Sell Software Services More Effectively
The Windows Vista Positioning Fiasco: What You Can Learn
Creating Compelling Product Roadmaps
CHANNEL SALES
What Kind Of Cuts Should You Give Resellers?
Turn Customers Into A Sales Channel
Hike Your Sales With Happier VARs
Six Ways To Online Channel Conflict
Two Models For Moving From Direct To Channel Sales
Resellers Demand Technical Training
Harsh Shelves: The Retail Realm Becomes Grimmer
The Rebate Recoil
INTERNATIONAL SALES AND MARKETING
International Sales: Don’t’ Try To Go It Alone
Extract More Cash From Software Sold Overseas
How To Irritate Overseas Buyers
Globalization Glitches
Don’t Tick Off Your Foreign Market —17 Resellers’ Gripes
Global Presence At A Minimal Cost
Going International? Bypass These 11 Blunders
Desktop Opportunities In Russia And The Successor States: An Overview.
Doing Business In The Mexican Software Market
CLOSING
Advanced Tools Help Quantify Benefits
How To Write A Winning Sales Proposal
Use Escrow To Close Those Nervous Prospects
FOLLOW-ON SALES
What to Do When the Clock Strikes 11 (11th Hour Sales Negotiations)
How To Sell More Upgrades
Collect More Cash On Major Upgrades
Get Your Best Customers To Fall In Love With You
Upgrades Renewal—Here’s How
Cross-Selling Boosts Your Revenues If You Act Fast
How To Boost Upgrade Sales To 100%
CYCLE MANAGEMENT
How To Earn More Money From Your Services
It Customers’ Top Three Motivators
Advisory Board: On Analyzing A Competitor’s Sales Process
How To Choose The Right SFA Software For Your Firm
How To Shorten The Sales Cycle
Sales Techniques: “Why People Don’t Buy Things”
How To Get Paid Faster
ADMINISTRATION
How To Patch The Black Holes In Your Sales Process
The 6 Sinkholes Of Software Sales
Measuring Results: Close Any Open-Loop Promotions
How To Develop A Corporate Voice
Do You Pay For Employee Education?
Does Your Engineer-Turned-CEO Stifle Software Sales?
Key Metrics; The Sales Pipeline
How Do You Set Your Sales Quotas?
Use Scoreboards To Make Your Goals Visible
Five Tips For Running Effective Sales Contests
How To Rate Your Sales Team’s Effectiveness
Make The Most Of Outside Sales Reps
Quiz: Do You Get The Most From Your Sales Force?
TELESALES
Reward Trips Motivate Your Sales Force: Eight Tips
Sales Quotas: How Tough Should You Be?
Special Report; Telesales Tips
Phone Support: 900 #s Carry Big Risks
How To Boost Telesales Response Rates
Phone Sales May Produce Less, But Look At The Costs
Telesales Start-Up Cost Analysis
Four Steps To A Powerful Telesales Script
Pump Up Profitability With Phone Sales
The 2007 Softletter Telesales Efficiency Survey: Summary Results
COMMISSION PLANS AND COMPENSATIONS
Incentive Plans: Punished By Rewards
Are You Paying Par For Support Reps?
How To Structure A Sales Comp Plan
Fat Commissions Can Mean Fat Profits
Fire Up Employees — And Growth — With At-Risk Pay
How Much Equity Should You Grant Employees?
On Hanging On To High-Performers
The Devaluation Of Options
Use Comp Ratios To Gauge Sales Reps
Budget Sales Pay With This Data
Compensation Mix For Software Sales Reps
Drive Your Total Sales Team With At Risk Pay
Field Sales: Here’s What To Pay — And To Expect
Software Sales Rep Commissions And Bonuses
The 2007 Softletter Sales Efficiency Survey: Summary Results
The 2007 Softletter Sales Efficiency Survey: Detailed Analyses
The Softletter 2007 Sales Efficiency Survey: Close Rates
Benchmarks: Detailed Enterprise And SaaS Sales Analyses