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Growth Stacking Show with Dan Martell

Dan Martell is a Canadian serial entrepreneur and angel investor. Subscribe now and learn his best strategies to build and scale successful products and businesses. Now hit that button and start the show. It's FREE.
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Now displaying: Page 10
Oct 28, 2019

Exclusive Download: Top Books For Transforming The Entrepreneur’s Life – Carefully Curated List From Over 1000+ Books and Almost 20 Years of Reading - http://bit.ly/2BLBuvY

--

I was recently working with one of my coaching clients, Mark, when he drops this bomb:

“How do I fix the feeling I have inside where I don’t know why I’m doing this anymore?”

(I hear this more than you’d think.)

From everybody else’s perspective, Mark’s is extremely successful.

$1M+ in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) from his SaaS with 60% NET profit.

But even the heavy-hitters have their head-scratching days, kicking the can down the street and wondering what the point of it all is.

It’s hard to stay motivated when you lose perspective like that.

So I walked him through something called the 10X Vision Map, something that I’ve used for the last 15 years to help me stay motivated on my journey. 

It’s a process for clearly framing what you are trying to create in your life and how it’ll all come together.

This is the backbone of all the success I’ve ever had in my life.

Why? 

Because it actually answers those tough internal questions!

And of course, that means I want to share it with you in this week’s video.

There are 5 parts to structuring and then actually implementing your 10X Vision Map, so here’s what I outline in the video:

1. Vision Map (team, product, empire, lifestyle)
2. Thinking impact
3. Innovation impact
4. Decision-making impact
5. Communication impact

By the end of this video, you’ll see how to take stock of where you’re at and where you’re going.

But I can’t take credit for this rock-solid motivation hack. 

It’s the byproduct of some super smart people that deserve a shout out, including:

- Dan Sullivan, creator of Strategic Coach who has been changing lives for 40+ years
- Cameron Herold, a good friend of mine from COO Alliance who wrote the book Vivid Vision.

I want to make sure that as you climb the ladder of success, you don’t get to the top only to find out that it’s leaning against the wrong wall.

You’ve got to check in with who you are and how you feel about your business. Frequently.

So if you ever wake up feeling frustrated and lacking motivation and you ask yourself: “Why am I building this in the first place?” …then run through this 10X Vision Map.

Take a few mins to check out this video, and drop a comment underneath to let me know if you think your ladder is leaning against the right wall.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Top Books For Transforming The Entrepreneur’s Life – Carefully Curated List From Over 1000+ Books and Almost 20 Years of Reading - http://bit.ly/2BLBuvY

Oct 14, 2019

Exclusive Download: Idea to Exit Mini-Course – Learn How To Build a Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2OSOGqm

--

Pre-selling your software before you’ve even built it is a very attractive idea.

Think about it: You get people to buy a concept, take that money and use it to build the software, and then you launch it to everyone else.

…All with no money out-of-pocket.

But the reality of actually PITCHING the pre-sell is hard! I mean, how do you get someone to buy into an idea based on the few minutes you spend with them?

Well, this week’s video is gonna save you a lot of pain, because I’m giving you the exact script you can use for your next pitch.

Essentially, there are two distinct parts to this pitch.

The first will get them to practically describe what your product should do, and the second will help you get a real commitment from a potential customer.

There’s 5 stages you’ll want to move through for this pre-sell pitching style, and it’s like this for a reason. They are:

1. Early Adopters Filter
2. Offer The Value
3. Part 1: Customer Development
4. Part 2: Pre-Sell
5. Take The Money

This bullet list doesn’t do it justice. Part 1 and Part 2 work together (obviously) and they are where the real magic happens.

Even if you don’t get a buyer every time, which – let’s be honest – will happen, you’ll still walk away with AWESOME insights into what you’re doing right, what you’re doing wrong and how to make your software the best it can be.

When you start to approach pitching this way, it’s actually… fun.

Rather than fearing rejection, you can safely know that it doubles as customer research… and only good things can come from that.

Don’t skip out on this video. If money is an obstacle to reaching your software’s potential, then this could really make a difference.

And leave me a comment under the video to let me know what your experience with pitching has been.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Idea to Exit Mini-Course – Learn How To Build a Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2OSOGqm

Oct 7, 2019

Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ – 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - http://bit.ly/2MjwFyF

--

When I was building my company, Flowtown, I remember one of our potential investors talking about Expansion Revenue.

I thought “Uhh… okay. What the heck is that?”

You don’t wanna learn about this stuff FROM potential investors. Staring at them wide-eyed when they outsmart you doesn’t exactly scream ‘good investment’.

But now I know how to use upselling to increase customer retention and leverage Expansion Revenue. It makes a real difference. I’ve used it in my own businesses and now teach it to my coaching clients too.

Thanks for the lesson, investors!

In fact, I taught this to a software founder I coach named Ryan and helped him increase his Expansion Revenue by 10% compounding on an annual basis… without it costing him anything.

It’s actually really simple, but there are few steps to nailing your Expansion Revenue and I’m sharing them in this new video.

Each one of these 3 has the potential to grow your profits. It might be small at first but they each compound over time. The 3 ways are:

1. Offer Account Review
2. QBR
3. Support Selling

It’s super easy to focus on the big wins and jump straight for the investors. But if there’s revenue you aren’t tapping into and it’s right under your nose, you gotta do an audit of your priorities.

And investors WANT to see that you’re doing this. They want to see that you are smart about increasing your customer satisfaction before they’ll be ready to buy into your business.

The strategies in this video are the kind you can put into practice this week.

You don’t need new people to implement it. You don’t need anything you haven’t already got.

So what are you waiting for? It’s right under your nose.

Check out the video, and drop us a comment to let us know if it works for you!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ – 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - http://bit.ly/2MjwFyF

Sep 30, 2019

Exclusive Download: Future Living™ Framework – Play a Bigger Game and Enhance the Way You Communicate Your Vision to Everyone You Interact With - http://bit.ly/2oEB9rL

--

You might not know my story yet, but… I’ve come a long, long way.

I wasn’t born into success.

I was a very troubled teenager, big-time. In and out of jail a few times. Rehab too.

But I pulled myself out from some bad places, took responsibility for my life, taught myself to code, and started building software companies.

I really struggled, until at 28 a US firm acquired my business and I found a real taste of success.

My journey taught me that your thoughts, your beliefs, whatever it is that makes you YOU will influence your business’ bottom line.

You’ve got to know your relationship with success.

You’re on a journey. We all are. And the more you know about where you are on your journey, the clearer you can see your next steps.

In this week’s video, I want to help you see with clarity where you are at by looking at the 5 Levels From Survival To Significance and mapping them onto my own journey.

The 5 Levels from Survival To Significance is a framework to see what challenges you are facing next. The levels are:

1. Survival
2. Security
3. Stability
4. Success
5. Significance

I first heard about this from John Maxwell, a prominent leadership speaker and author, when I brought him out to my hometown and got to hang out with him for a whole day.

I want to share it with you because it’s helped me make sense of my journey. As the founder and the driving force behind your SaaS, who you are matters.

So check out the latest video, and please leave a comment to let me know if this resonates with you.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Future Living™ Framework – Play a Bigger Game and Enhance the Way You Communicate Your Vision to Everyone You Interact With - http://bit.ly/2oEB9rL

Sep 23, 2019

Exclusive Download: Fundraising Like a Pro – Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2m53ar9

--

Years ago I attempted to raise money for my first company, Flowtown, with my co-founder Ethan.

You know what we did? We cold emailed investors. 

We figured “We have a startup, they invest in startups… so surely they want to hear from us”, and hoped our confidence would cut through the noise.

It didn’t work. Obviously.

They didn’t even bother to reply.

So we hunted for advice and came across Naval from AngelList. 

Everything he said about fundraising just… clicked.

We put it in practice and successfully raised our of fundraising for Flowtown and I later closed my Clarity.fm round ($1.6M) in just 3 days!

This process works.

I’ve taught it to over 100+ of my coaching clients and they’ve raised over $200 Million from investors.

Now I’ve made a new video about it so you can learn the process too.

It’ll be a shift in the way you think about raising funding, but if you’ve ever wanted to approach investors do not even try without first checking out this super-important video.

There’s 3 stages you’ve got to move through properly before you’ll have a chance with investors. Getting this right from the start made such a difference for me, and I know it will for you too.

1. Research
2. Track
3. Connect

If you had investors for your startup, imagine the difference it would make.

You could focus on the bigger picture, hire a team to support you, and really put some fuel into your business’ engine.

Well in the video, I pull apart each stage so you know exactly what I mean and how to take actionable steps towards getting that investment.

I even teach you exactly how to get introductions with the best investors out there for your specific type of startup.

Check it out and be sure to leave me a comment letting me know your experience with raising money, no matter how good or bad.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Fundraising Like a Pro – Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2m53ar9

Sep 16, 2019

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2kMuQRa

--

I love speaking at live events and conferences. 

But at what cost? 

For about 4 years I was regularly invited to talk on stage and found myself getting more and more frustrated when I wasn’t getting enough results to justify it. 

I’d spend time away from home, away from my family and away from the business work that needed to be done… 

…only to get home jet-lagged and with no new leads or growth.

What I saw was that not all stage appearances are the same, and at some point, you’ve got to ask yourself “Is this really moving my business forward?” 

I needed a way to measure the value of a stage

And I mean both physical stages and digital stages. That could be a conference or live event, or it could be a podcast interview, TV appearance, webinars… if there’s an audience that’ll watch it, then it’s a stage.

So I turned to my buddy Pete Vargas. He’s the best in the world at this, an absolute pro at measuring Stage Value Index (SVI) and leveraging any speaking opportunity, and he helped me build a solid strategy I now use all the time

Now I want to share that strategy with you so you can leverage live appearances for your business. Check it out in my latest video:

What I’ll show you in this video are the 5 points you need to consider to make the most of any speaking opportunities. They are:

1. Goals Of The Stage
2. Capture Leads
3. Conversion Tool
4. Measure SVI
5. Look For Leverage

Without having a proper strategy your stage appearances won’t grow your business as much as they should. 

Man, I wish I knew this before I started those 4 long years of live speaking events.

If you want your startup to grow, if you want your business to succeed, then check out the video and drop us a comment to let us know which of the 5 points helped you the most.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: 
Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2kMuQRa

Sep 9, 2019

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2kCmxXX

--

In my career, I’ve hired dozens of salespeople… and I made some big mistakes when I did.

Expensive mistakes.

In my 20s I hired a guy and paid him $80k salary and all he did was talk about how he was going to close big deals… without ever doing it!

For a whole year, this guy promised me the world and delivered absolutely zero value. And I actually paid him for it!

Compare that to now: Last week I hired a salesperson on Wednesday who closed a deal by Friday, and another by Monday. 2 within ONE WEEK after hiring him.

I’ve gotten way better at picking the right people for my team.

There are gifted salespeople out there. People who fight for your product, really connect with potential customers and ultimately help you win happy clients. They make it sooooo easy.

But first, you’ve gotta find them.

And as I always teach: that means you need a system. A plan that helps you reliably find talented salespeople that deliver results… fast! No more wasting money.

Here’s how I do it. This is my system to make sure I’m separating the trees from the weeds,  all distilled into 5 steps. Check out this week’s video.

I won’t hire a salesperson without ticking off these 5 points. This is my checklist:

1. Profile
2. Top Of The Funnel
3. Video
4. Test Project
5. Sales Playbook

A great sales team will skyrocket your business. They become your front line. 

You might hate pursuing sales, but for the right person… they live for it! They get a rush out of achieving their (and your) goals.

I’ve worked with plenty of entrepreneurs who try to sell from behind their keyboard. Sure – with the right marketing, automation and brand strategy, it works. But nothing beats the direct feedback from a sales call or a face-to-face meeting.

I’ve had my sales team come to me with all kinds of discoveries about our potential customers, their fears, their goals, and the barriers they’re struggling to breakthrough… just because they spoke directly to them. 

That feedback drives the strategy and product roadmap for the company.

You don’t get that from sitting behind a keyboard.

And… you also don’t get that from lousy salespeople either.

Make sure you hire the right people. Check out this week’s video and you’ll already be better off than I was in my 20s, making $80k mistakes!

I’d love to hear about your experience with a sales team too, so drop me a comment and let’s share war stories.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2kCmxXX

Sep 2, 2019

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2lq3vUR

--

A few years back I had the privilege of hanging out with Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and Square, while we were on a speaking tour in Canada.

This guy is a machine. He’s running 2 x Billion dollar businesses with a combined employee count of over 5000… at the same time.

So I figured a guy with a net worth of $5.7 Billion (yes… billion) might know a thing or two about leadership for scaling businesses.

…I was right.

Jack shared with me heaps of insights about leadership but there was one that has stuck with me ever since:

The idea of the Author vs the Editor.

This idea alone has affected how I think about leadership and my relationship with my teams, but it’s 100% applicable to startup teams at a small scale too. 

It would be greedy if I kept it to myself, so I want to share it with you in this week’s video.

Your ability to lead your team has a direct impact on your company’s success, whether you like it or not. But great leadership is a muscle that can be trained… starting with this video.

These are the 5 key points I cover this week:

1. Define The Outcome
2. Let Them Author
3. Sort
4. 1-3-1 Rule
5. Coach To Success

The good news is that improving your leadership skills isn’t a burden. In fact: it will make your job easier! 

You’ll get more out of the resources you already have, you’ll leverage hidden talents in your team, and you’ll find innovation that gives you a competitive edge.

It’s a common mistake I see when founders and small-time CEOs think of leadership only when the team is big. By that point, company culture is already infused.

I absolutely recommend you take some time today to really think about how you lead your team and watch this week’s video. It’s worth taking Jack Dorsey’s insights seriously. 

I know I did.

Let me know in the comments if you found Jack’s insights as valuable as I did.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: 
Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2lq3vUR

Aug 26, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Dream 100 - Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life (Peers, Advisors & Mentors) - http://bit.ly/2zo806g

--

How do you get invited to spend a week at Richard Branson’s house in Switzerland?

Or for guys like Mark Cuban and Travis Kalanick (founder of Uber) to happily invest in your company? Or to get invited to travel to 8 European cities on a private jet?

These all happened to me… and I believe it’s a natural result of one thing I did right: Investing In Relationships.

I began figuring this out in my mid-twenties and WOW did it make a difference. 

Here’s what people often fail to realize: 

Your biggest business opportunities ARE NOT going to come from your strongest connections. (Weren’t expecting that, were you?)

Usually, you’ve already explored those connections…

Instead, it’s the friends-of-friends or the people you barely know (called “weak ties”) that are going to present you with the best-unexpected opportunities. 

Which means you’ve got to focus on connecting and building NEW relationships

But… how?

In today’s video, I share the details on how to network like a professional… even if you’re an introvert. Be sure to watch it:

Here are the core ideas I’ve learned through successful networking:

1. Go out
2. Host dinners
3. Perfect your intro
4. Add value
5. Stay connected

Perfecting your intro (a huge shoutout to Clay Hebert) is especially useful when making new business connections. 

Too often people lose opportunities because they just downplay themselves. Here’s an example:

Imagine you own a $10M business and someone asks you, “What do you do?”

Your answer: “Well… I built a web app”

Dude! Step up your game!

Nobody says you should brag or be arrogant, but you’ve also gotta deliver a valuable answer! 

Practice a clear and concise intro that can open the doors for a bigger conversation and a new connection. 

The basic format is super simple:

“I help [insert your ideal customer] get [the result].”

Here is an example from my friend Melanie: “I help entrepreneurs create memorable experiences”

Melanie’s intro sets the context for her to expand on what she can do. It’s a simple and catchy intro designed to grab people’s attention and create new connections.

So now it’s time to think about your intro. Wanna try it out? Drop a comment on this week’s video and let me know how you would introduce yourself with the format above.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: 
Dream 100 - Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life (Peers, Advisors & Mentors) - http://bit.ly/2zo806g

Aug 19, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Migration Method™ – How To Build a SaaS Product Inside a Service Business The Right Way - http://bit.ly/30hJ0JB

--

I’ve seen this happen before…

A business that’s already growing decides to start their own SaaS.

It always seems like a great idea. 

You’re already serving your customers, you know their problems, and you’ve got company resources to work with… 

So it’s gotta be easier than starting from scratch, right?

Next thing you know it’s 3 years later and you’ve spent $7 MIL. and you HAVEN’T EVEN LAUNCHED!

This happened to someone I was introduced to hoping I could help them out…

You might wonder how it’s possible, but trust me, when you don’t have a good plan about how to build, co-create and launch your SaaS, it’s too easy to go broke spending another $150K/month for an outsourced development company.

That’s why in today’s video I am going to walk you through the steps of building a SaaS business without losing all of your savings. 

The 5 points in this video are super important. It’s not rocket science but you’ll be amazed at how easily they get forgotten. Here they are:

1. Solve your own problems first
2. Constrain the resources
3. Don’t overbuild for someday
4. Hire someone external
5. Talk about it

I made this video to save businesses from tripping up on their own success. 

A business starts to get some traction and some profits and then they lose it all on the SaaS Roulette Wheel. 

It frustrates me because it can all be avoided. 

It’s like they start making some cash and suddenly they forget everything they know about what made their business work in the first place.

The thing is: real success is never a gamble. It’s not accidental! It’s strategic and smart… from the start.

That’s why you’ve gotta check out this video. I just can’t let you make these mistakes and I want you to approach it the right way.

Don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know if this realigns your thinking.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource:
Migration Method™ – How To Build a SaaS Product Inside a Service Business The Right Way - http://bit.ly/30hJ0JB

Aug 12, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2TvI41B

--

Funding. The day will come when you need it for your SaaS.

You’ve grown your startup, got a brilliant team and you’ve got a great product you can actually take to investors as proof.

Now it just needs that push.

But before you even think about trying to fundraise or approach investors, you’ll need to know how to value your SaaS and decide on how much you should raise.

Value isn’t a number you just pluck out of thin air. You’ve gotta think it through and value your SaaS correctly or else you might send those eager investors running away before you’ve even shown them your product demo.

I know this mistake all too well… 10 years ago with Flowtown, I was the one who was raising the money and I settled on a value of $700K on $7M pre-money. 

Why?

It sounded clever (I share the details behind that decision in this week’s video). But very quickly I realized my valuation was off and it was doing more harm than good.

Since then, I’ve met with a lot of remarkable people and got some much-needed advice to help me value properly, all which helped refine my skill of fundraising.

I’ve now been involved in 30+ investment rounds, and have helped other founders from all over the world raise over $200M in capital.

Wanna know how to do a proper valuation of your SaaS? I’ll walk you through the key steps in this week’s video.

These are the 4 factors you’ve got to investigate before you’re ready to value your SaaS:

1. 409A Valuation
2. Market Norms
3. Competitive Process
4. Strong Thesis

Arguably the hardest part of getting your valuation is attracting investors in the first place so they’re lined up and interested in your business.

Why does that matter?

The more interest you get, the more you can leverage that to increase your valuation.

Fundraising is all about preparation and timing. If you get these wrong, you can sell too much of your company to the wrong investor and screw everything up.

We could discuss fundraising for hours, or… you can check out my Fundraising Like a Pro training below this week’s video which will show you the 3 phases of fundraising that I learned directly from Travis Kalanick (Founder of Uber.com).

Get into it! After you devour it, you will be able to go through the whole process in less than 7 weeks (normally it takes founders months to get a round done).

Last time I raised money, I closed my round in 3 days.

Aim high!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2TvI41B

Aug 5, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Revenue Retention Cheatsheet™ - Stop The Bleeding & Scale Your Marketing With Confidence - http://bit.ly/2FHGVOi

--

And it goes like this:

How much is it?
– It’s not that bad…
Look, it’s simple. Just give me a number. OK?
– It’s 20% – not that bad, right?
WOW… Your churn is 20% monthly? 

*issues a small prayer to all the SaaS gods*

The above is a conversation I recently had with a potential coaching client… GOOSEBUMPS!

Let me put this into perspective…

If your churn rate is at 20% and for one reason or another you fail to add any new customers… in just 5 months… you will churn through all of your existing customers and be left with nothing – simple math. 

The worse part, it pulls down your Lifetime Value of a Customer so it makes it really tough to invest in growth and is usually the reason startups fail.

You should always know exactly where you’re standing on your churn levels and you should be doing the best you can to fight these levels back and get that MRR up

You should make sure you UNDERSTAND CHURN!

In this episode of the SaaS Growth Stacking Show, I give you the 4 things you should pay attention to and stay on top of to make sure you stop the bleeding and SCALE-UP!

At a high level, these are the 4 things you need to keep in mind:

1. Churn Flatline
2. Maximum Viable Churn
3. Moment of Churn
4. Fight the Impact

Now… 

Where does it all begin? It starts with answering one simple question… What does churn mean?

If you cannot define it – you cannot measure it… and you absolutely need to define it! 

You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your customer success team is measuring something else entirely that skews your data.

Start with something simple. Usually, there are 2 types of Churn – one is Cancellations and the other is Involuntary Churn.

Involuntary Churn can be 20%-40% of your Churn and a lot of times is quite easily fixable. 

There will be times where it is caused by simple payment failures and these ones, as frustrating as they are, can be tackled with great tools such as ProfitWell or FlexPay. 

Cancellation Churn’s moment, on the other hand, is well defined – it’s when a client doesn’t renew their subscription. 

Between the notice and the renew date, there is a period of time that you can really engage with the customer and save the account. 

If you implement a strong cancellation process you can save 30%-40% of these clients. A lot of times it’s up to downgrading, showing the solution, talking about their problems – SIMPLE, RIGHT?

You have to sit down and define the moment of churn with your team. Get aligned. There are things you can always do and improve and this is one of them. You need it to blast into space!

Don’t worry, it’s a solvable problem and I give you the strategy in my Churn Buster CheatSheet.  I provide 9 strategies that you can deploy today to help you reduce your churn. 

If you cannot find the solution for your business there – write a comment below with your question and let’s get the answer your business needs together.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Revenue Retention Cheatsheet™ - Stop The Bleeding & Scale Your Marketing With Confidence - http://bit.ly/2FHGVOi

Jul 29, 2019

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2JZJaQ0

--

If you’re in sales, you never want to come off like this:

“Listen here, pal… This is the product you need and it will definitely solve all your problems! 100%! If you don’t buy this today, you and your company will regret it for the rest of your life!”

I call this having “Commission Breath”.

Every time I hire a salesperson, at some point this happens. 

They might follow the Talk Tracks we’ve outlined for the product demo, but many times they will be too eager to get that commission signed off by finance and force the prospects to run. 

In this episode of the SaaS Growth Stacking show, I show you how to build an awesome sales team by teaching them the 5 decisions your prospects make before buying your product. 

Here are your prospect’s 5 questions at a glance:

1. Are you trustworthy?
2. Does the product solve the problem?
3. Is it affordable?
4. Is the company dependable?
5. Is it a now thing?

Have you heard something like this before?

“Hey… We looked into your product but it doesn’t feel like something we should do now?!” – there are a ton of versions of that objection.

It’s not something you want to hear. Especially, when you are certain that you are not only solving a current issue, but can be solving future problems as well.

Well… Then talk with your sales representatives, see if they are quantifying the pain or the lack of results and relaying it clearly to the prospect. Are they PUSHING THE PAIN?

The moment you help someone realize that your product is a NOW thing and understand the whole sequence of success that follows after implementing it…

That it will not only help them achieve their business outcome, but will be a driving force to achieve their personal goals – getting the recognition, getting the promotion – then you will have it!

You will have their credit card… and the SALE!

Check the top 5 questions your sales process should have an answer for on the latest episode of the SaaS Growth Stacking Show. Leave a comment below if you can’t find your pain listed. Let’s crack it and get you IN ORBIT TO SUCCESS!

It might also be good to take a look at my Rocket Demo Builder, because it can easily solve some of the issues mentioned above and create the sense of urgency you need to be selling your SaaS product.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2JZJaQ0

Jul 22, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2JZWAdP

--

Imagine the following…

You’re growing fast and you need to hire a new biz dev guy. 

He’s convinced that he’s going to add a lot of value to your company, and asked for 1% of your startup, so you give it to him.

After a few months, you pivot the business and he’s no longer needed (plus he didn’t actually do anything while he was around).

Next thing you know, you are just about to raise the first round of funding for a different product and you realize he’s still got 1%.

What do you do…?

You jump on a plane, waste time trying to convince them to sell you their equity share before you close… 

This is a true story that happened to me while I was building Flowtown. 

Equity is a great way to keep your employees motivated to scale your company, but it’s important to do it right or it can backfire against bigtime. 

In today’s video, I cover the 7 steps to ensure the right equity allocation that will make the most sense for your company.

Here are the 7 steps:

1. Build your dream team
2. Carve out your equity pool
3. Research compensation
4. Vesting schedule
5. Stock options vs other options 
6. Plan for grants and promotions
7. Set an expiration timeline

Each of these steps is crucial when it comes to doing equity right, but researching compensation is especially important for tying salary with equity for your employees.

It all basically boils down to offering compensation and equity opportunities that are relevant for the region of your business.

A CTO in San Francisco does not get the same compensation as a CTO in Nebraska, so make sure you do your research by consulting glassdoor.com or similar resources. 

The industry baseline in the region will give you a ballpark figure, which you can then combine with equity at different risk levels. 

Give your hires the ability to choose between small, medium, and larger amounts of high-risk equity. 

The   option will give them a higher salary but lower amount of equity, while the high-risk option will give them the opposite (more equity).

This strategy will help you recognize the highly motivated and long-term committed hires which will drive your company forward. 

Watch the full video to learn my other equity tips, and be sure to leave a comment below.

--


Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - http://bit.ly/2JZWAdP

Jul 15, 2019

Exclusive Download: The Winning Webinar Method™ – How To Conduct A Webinar That Delivers Paying Customers - http://bit.ly/2XPQ0eA

--

When I started Flowtown, a marketing Saas product I built in San Francisco, over a decade ago… there was one thing I knew we had to do right:

Content marketing.

So I built out this epic content strategy that grew to 350,000 unique views per month. What a difference that made! Then I did it all over again with Clarity.fm… and again with my current coaching business.

After doing it so many times – from scratch – I’ve learned a lot about what to do… and what not to do. 

I see business owners getting this wrong all the time… They pump out content that just doesn’t work to drive sales, because the strategy is broken.

I want to fix that. So I’ve recorded a new episode to show you a whole new 5-step framework for getting the biggest results out of your content even when spending the least amount of time.

It seems simple… but the best strategies are. That’s why they work! Just focus on these 5 steps to sharpen your content marketing game:

1. Start with your ICP
2. Five Frustrations
3. Teach to Solve
4. Offer a Bribe
5. Write for You

I know marketers who repeat the phrase “Content is king” like it’s their mantra. It’s true, but it’s only painting half the picture.

Content is king because it builds brand awareness, provides value upfront, can rank in Google, gets shared online, and provides visitors an entry point to your business.

But just because content is king, that doesn’t mean it’s your solution. 

More than 75% of blog visitors leave and never return. Building an effective strategy is what keeps those visitors coming back for more and turns them into high-quality leads.

Once you have this strategy in place, then the content can convert. But without the strategy, you’re just providing free entertainment for the world.

You’ve got to cut through the noise.

Check out the latest episode, and don’t forget to drop a comment to let me know which of the 5 steps resonated with you most.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Winning Webinar Method™ – How To Conduct A Webinar That Delivers Paying Customers - http://bit.ly/2XPQ0eA

Jul 8, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Future Living™ Framework - Play a Bigger Game and Enhance the Way You Communicate Your Vision to Everyone You Interact With - http://bit.ly/2YIRYyS

--

A few months ago I gave a talk at a local high school here in Moncton.

I shared my journey, went deep in the challenges I overcame, and gave my ALL to help inspire these kids live a bigger life.

But during the Q&A, the tables got turned.

And it was this kid in the front row. Someone I’ve never met before. Who with ONE question, hit me right at my core. 

I’ve worked with hundreds of world-class coaches and mentors throughout my life. 

But for whatever reason, this was the first time the question truly landed and inspired a 15-minute, on-the-spot examination of what matters most to me. 

His question?

What does success mean to you? 

And in this super important episode I go deep into the six ways I’ve come to understand success both in my own life and the lives of those around me.

Sure, the financial outcomes you generate in your business matter. But what it really comes down to (for me, at least) is the following:

1. Better today than yesterday
2. Create experiences
3. Serving others
4. Work matters
5. Be remembered
6.Gratitude and hunger

Each one of these is worth fully exploring.

But what I want you to really focus on is how both gratitude and hunger can, and ultimately must, co-exist.

Being hungry and driven doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate what you’ve already accomplished and what you have in front of you. It’s quite the opposite.

If you’re TRULY grateful for the opportunities, resources and abilities in your life, there’s also an underlying agreement and responsibility to make good on those gifts and turn them into something even greater for yourself, your family, and your community.

Watch the full episode here, and then drop me a comment letting me know what you’re grateful for right now… and how you plan to channel that appreciation into an even bigger vision for both yourself and those around you.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Future Living™ Framework - Play a Bigger Game and Enhance the Way You Communicate Your Vision to Everyone You Interact With - http://bit.ly/2YIRYyS

Jul 1, 2019

Exclusive Download: Idea to Exit Mini-Course - Learn How To Build a Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2xn6os6

--

I recently shared an uber with my buddy, Kevin, when the topic of naming his new startup came up.

And when you think about it…

There’s SO much pressure in getting this right.

Not only is the name of your startup gonna be front and center for the next few years (or decades) of your life...

… but it’s gonna be one of the FIRST things that potential customers use to judge you and your company. Meaning, before you even have a real conversation with a customer or investor, your company name will have either created a favorable perception… or a crappy one you’re gonna have to work extra hard to overcome. 

And while there are consultants and naming experts who will literally charge tens of thousands of dollars to help you get it right… 

In this week’s episode, I’m gonna share the criteria I’ve used to name every one my companies (as well as hundreds of companies I’ve had the privilege of advising).

At a high level, here are the five major (and slightly unconventional) things to keep in mind when naming your startup:

1. Align with your customer
2. Don’t be too specific
3. Outcome driven
4. Don’t buy the .com
5. Have meaning

Not many people know this, but the name for clarity.fm was born out of a late night coding sesh.

I was mentally cycling through the feedback we were getting from our beta users when it suddenly clicked that the OUTCOME our technology was providing all came down to clarity.

If you’re stuck in your naming process, I invite you to do the same.

Go through your case studies, interviews, surveys, etc. and try to single out any common benefit or outcome that keeps coming up.

You might be shocked by how the perfect name was right in front of you all along.

Give the full episode a watch here, and then drop a comment letting me know how you arrived at your own company’s name.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Idea to Exit Mini-Course - Learn How To Build a Product Without Spending Money & True Customer Validation - http://bit.ly/2xn6os6

Jun 17, 2019

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2MRVMwb

--

A few weeks ago, I hosted a meetup with my SaaS Academy clients in Boston (including a private sit down with the Hubspot product team).

Most of my clients are non-technical founders who noticed a gap in the marketplace and went all in to capitalize on the opportunity.

And while product management tends to be a major blind spot for most non-technical founders, this group walked away armed with the best practices from some of the world’s top SaaS companies (think Hubspot, Intercom, Dropbox).

So how do we do it?

How do we take non-technical founders from a real-life version of the shoulder-shrugging emoji wasting thousands of dollars per month coding features no one really needs

…  to becoming a lean, efficient, top-in-class product manager in a matter of weeks or months?

It comes down to the 5 product management strategies I outline in this week’s episode.

At a high level, here are the 5 strategies that will help you nail your product management process by this time next quarter:

1. Outline your vision
2. Connect customers
3. Inform backlog
4. Glue metrics
5. Secure buy-in

When it comes to “glue metrics”, nobody impresses me more than Intercom (disclaimer: proud investor).

Essentially they measure every potential product feature against something called the R.I.C.E. scorecard.

Doing so gives them a CLEAR and quantifiable “score” to prioritize their product roadmap and make stronger, more confident decisions with more buy-in from all stakeholders.

Want to know what R.I.C.E stands for?

And better yet… how to use it to rank and prioritize the laundry list of feature add-ons taunting you from your PM dashboard?

Catch the full episode here and then drop me a comment letting me know which major update you plan to develop next, and how it scores on the R.I.C.E scale.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - http://bit.ly/2MRVMwb

Jun 10, 2019

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/31oUb4c

--

I recently spoke at Traffic & Conversion in San Diego when the topic of product demos came up.

And what I realized was quite simple but profound:

Everyone has a demo problem.

I mean… ev-ery-one.

And I’m willing to bet that if you were to look at your own business right now, you’re either lacking enough demos to really make a dent in your growth…

… or you’re super overwhelmed and inundated with crappy leads that don’t even have a puncher’s chance at converting.

aka. a soul-crushing waste of time with a massive opportunity cost.

That’s what inspired me to create this week’s episode to show you how to not only get more demos on your cal… but how to get the RIGHT leads on the zoom line that have at least a 65% chance at converting.

At a high level, here’s how to book more high quality demos out of your existing traffic:

1. Pepper your CTA
2. Match the message
3. Sell the time
4. Filter your funnel
5. Warm the demo

I’d love it if you could start with the first one right away. It’s the ULTIMATE demo hack that can literally double the number of calls on your g-cal by next week.

Essentially it comes down to this:

What high-traffic pages do you have right now that aren’t “working hard enough” to turn a page visitor into a demo appointment?

We’re talking about your most highly-traffic’d entry pages as well as any major thank you pages (ie. lead magnet download, webinar sign up, etc.)

Peppering your CTA across these pages (and matching the message as I teach in step 2)… can significantly boost your appointment flow with just a few hours of work and not a single extra dollar in ad spend.

Watch the full vid here and then drop me a comment letting me know how you plan on implementing over the next week or two to get more qualified demo calls.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.


+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/31oUb4c

Jun 3, 2019

Exclusive Resource: 5 Secrets of Silicon Valley - Discover My Silicon Valley Secrets To Skyrocket Your Business by Implementing 5 Little Changes That No One is Talking About - http://bit.ly/2Ko2uHt

--

Should I exit or should I stay the course?

It’s THE single biggest question that nearly every successful founder will eventually be met with.

And after taking my coaching clients for a private sit down with Chris Savage at Wistia…

… it got us all thinking about the best ways to evaluate whether or not it’s time to exit and start fresh… or buckle in and continue down the path.

Inspired by Wistia (and many other founders I’ve had the privilege of sitting down with), this week’s episode covers the five key questions you need to ask yourself to arrive at a clear decision that feels both aligned and in the highest interest to your team members and stakeholders.

At a high level, the five questions to consider are as follows:

1. Passion or exhaustion?
2. If crushing?
3. Build it again?
4. Pivot or persevere?
5. Perfect execution?

The FIRST question you need to ask yourself is whether or not you’re still in love.

Meaning, are you still absolutely passionate about the problems you’re solving and the audience you’re solving it for? Or are you just going through the motions?

I see so many founders that pivot their way “out of love” and end up with something that while successful, just leads to exhaustion and constant curiosity around new possibilities.

As a founder and leader, your passion is your fuel.

It MUST be protected at all costs.

And if you find it waning… it might be time to start considering your next move.

Give the full episode a spin here, and then drop me a comment letting me know any major insights or points of clarity that come from it.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.


+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: 5 Secrets of Silicon Valley - Discover My Silicon Valley Secrets To Skyrocket Your Business by Implementing 5 Little Changes That No One is Talking About - http://bit.ly/2Ko2uHt

May 27, 2019

Imagine you’re 27, you’ve read 100 business books and just want to move on to the next step in your career… what do you do?

Well, when I was 27, I was lucky enough to participate in a 3-year CEO program with my brother. He spent $35K on a coaching program because he was determined to invest in his development as an entrepreneur.

And the best part, I got to join him as his +1!

You might be thinking, that’s a lot of money for someone just starting his entrepreneurial journey (that was almost all of my brother’s $$ at the time)… but trust me when I say this, IT WAS WORTH IT.

Thanks to this program my little bro ended up developing one of the fastest growing home building companies in Atlantic Canada… and I gained the knowledge, tools, and confidence to move to Silicon Valley and start and exit two tech startups back to back.

So in today’s video, I got over the top 5 reasons to join a CEO group.

Here’s the top 5 list:

1. Compress decades into days
2. Positive peer pressure
3. Time away to focus on a higher level
4. Pull you up when you’re feeling down
5. Do cool stuff

Even though these 5 reasons should make you want to jump out of your chair and find a group to join, I still feel positive peer pressure is what makes CEO groups so special.

There is just something about being among all these ambitious and committed entrepreneurs that elevates your thinking to the next level.

It goes back to the old saying, “If you are the smartest guy in the room, you need to find another room.”

I remember a few years back when I was invited at an event in Switzerland… I met this guy Bryan. As we were driving through the swerving road, I asked him, “So Bryan, what do you do?”

“Oh, I started a company called Braintree.”

I had heard of them because PayPal just acquired for $800 mil… CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? And I was riding in the van with the guy who built it from the ground up! That’s the magnitude and inspiration that only CEO groups can get you.

You get the point. By surrounding yourself with highly motivated and successful people, you can leverage the positive peer pressure and bring the energy necessary to hit your most ambitious dreams.

Be sure to catch the whole ep here, and drop me a comment letting me know any questions or additions you have about this top 5 list.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

May 20, 2019

Okay. Here we go. Focus. Speed. SaaS is Racing.

I remember a couple of years ago I watched “Cars” the movie with my two boys.

What struck me most about the story was that the main character, Lightning McQueen, didn’t learn to be the best on the race track; he learned it on the training dirt track.

So today’s update comes from the DirtFish Rally School just outside of Seattle. The more time I spent here hucking, hoping and trying to keep my momentum…  the more I saw there are so many lessons from racing that apply to entrepreneurship as well.

In this week’s video, I share with you the 8 racing lessons that can help your business grow.

Here’s a summary of the key lessons to help you ramp up your

growth and keep your eyes on the prize
1. In like a lamb, out like a lion
2. Sacrifice speed for stability
3. Model then modify
4. Don’t commit to chaos, lift to vision
5. Adapt for success
6. Be patient, set it and wait
7. You can’t look ahead if you’re patting yourself on the back
8. You gotta be chill to kill

Something I learned on the dirt track is, when you’re attacking a turn it’s better to get rid of some speed and come in slower.  Then, once you get lined up for your exit, you can POWER ON like a rocket.

Same thing goes in business. When a big opportunity comes up, you should start slow… prepare… assess… align… and when you know it’s going to be a big win then you can go all in.

I learned this from Jim Collins (author of Good to Great). In his book he talks about firing bullets, then cannonballs.

Before investing resources and effort in an opportunity, make sure you test it on a smaller scale… once you prepare and align, ATTACK LIKE A LION.

Check out the full ep here, and then drop me a comment letting me know any other similarities you can find between racing and entrepreneurship.

It’s AMAZING how universal and cross-function strategies are, don’t you think?

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Top 5 Productivity Hacks - Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - http://bit.ly/2Hfwkfg

May 13, 2019

Exclusive Resource: Top 5 Productivity Hacks - Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - http://bit.ly/2Hfwkfg

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As a high-performing founder, you’re confronted with TWO seemingly opposing forces.

1. You need to travel (a lot)
2. Your health and fitness are a vital part of your capacity to show up and do your best work

So how do you reconcile this?

How do you stay razor sharp (and fit) while sitting long hours on planes and scavenging for food in a place you’ve never been before?

Well after spending literally THOUSANDS of days on the road over my entrepreneurial career, I’ve cracked the code on how to stay fit and prioritize your health while bouncing between airports and exploring new towns.

In this week’s episode I cover my 5 most impactful strategies for prioritizing my health no matter WHERE I touch-down.

At a high level, prioritizing your health while travelling comes down to these five key strategies:


1. Win your mornings
2. Airport triggers
3. Sweat everyday
4. Pre-order meals
5. Get accountable to someone

While all five are super easy to implement and as close to non-negotiable as it gets… I want you to commit to sweating everyday no matter where you are.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a 10 minute, crossfit style workout in your hotel room (bodyweight only)… or a morning run to explore a new city… nothing will keep you sharper on all levels than getting some sweat going.

At the end of the day, here’s what must be understood:

Being a road warrior doesn’t mean you need to let your health suffer… and it’s definitely not an excuse to let yourself “slip up” for a few days.

The opposite is true.

If you’re travelling to meet potential clients, investors, or just trying to carve out incredible memories with your family, you NEED to show up with presence, power, and focus.

Stack all five strategies to make sure you’re always showing up at your best, and then drop me a comment letting me know any personal travel hacks or strategies you use to stay fit on the road.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: Top 5 Productivity Hacks - Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - http://bit.ly/2Hfwkfg

May 6, 2019

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2Y7ewsb

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I was 24 when I closed my first enterprise level SaaS deal.

I had recently started Spheric Technologies and decided to go straight to the heavy hitters.

We’re talking Fortune 500 companies like Johnson & Johnson, American Express and Procter & Gamble.

(guess the JFDI ethos was alive and well) ;)

And while I had an amazing team of coaches and mentors around me (and an endless supply of Grade A boldness) to carry me through those early deals, they were FAR from smooth.

But over a decade (and tens of millions in enterprise deals under my belt) later, I’ve refined my process into a simple 5-step system for navigating and eventually closing a high value enterprise deal.

While the intrinsic complexities and long sales cycles still aren’t for the faint of heart, this week’s episode will show you the most effective strategy for bringing clarity to the sales process while cutting down on sales cycles and frustration.

At a high level, the process comes down to:

1. Get multi-threaded
2. Virtual close
3. Move metric
4. Face to face
5. Ask for a POC

While each step is absolutely critical, nothing matters unless you can peg your solution against your prospect’s “Move Metric”.

Meaning, even if you do everything else right, there’s no deal to be had unless the outcome your solution provides can be linked directly to a priority metric on your prospect’s strategic roadmap.

It’s your job to both UNCOVER that move metric as early on as possible — and continuously remind all stakeholders how your solution specifically moves that needle forward better than anything else they might be evaluating.

Once again, navigating  enterprise deals is an entirely different beast… but one that as a founder you NEED to be prepared to engage in when the right opp shows up.

Watch the full episode here and then drop me a comment letting me know your biggest challenges or concerns when it comes to locking down high value enterprise contracts.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: The Rocket Demo Builder™ - Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - http://bit.ly/2Y7ewsb

Apr 29, 2019

Exclusive Resource: High Tempo Testing™ - Define a Solid North Star Metric & Identify Experiments Worth Running That Drive You Closer To Predictable Growth - http://bit.ly/2INZx2M

--

Imagine this…

You’ve worked MONTHS gearing up to launch your product.

You’re absolutely CERTAIN that the market will receive it with the same level of enthusiasm as you do (and I mean… why wouldn’t they? Your thing is awesome).

So you put your reputation on the line by inviting 300 of your most influential friends and investors into a swanky-ass theatre for the official launch party. We’re talking people from Shark Tank, Dragon’s Den, Hootsuite, Freshbooks, etc.

You pull back the curtain. Give them all immediate access. And spend the longest, most excruciating twenty minutes of your life waiting for them to interact with your product and give the raving reviews you expected.

But instead you’re met with…

Crickets.

Welcome to the origin story of my last company, clarity.fm.

Before the 100K+ users and eventual exit, there was a botched launch and a punch-to-the-gut that nearly KO’d the company before it ever got off the ground.

What I share in this week’s episode is how I took clarity from 300 apathetic users that I pretty much bribed and begged to support the product…

… to having enough raving fans and active users to fill up Wembley stadium.

At a high level, here are the 5 steps towards growth hacking your way to 100K users:

1. Nail a problem
2. Map the universe
3. Value in advance
4. Drafting strategy
5. Rinse and repeat

While giving value in advance isn’t exactly mind blowing, there are TWO hugely impactful ways to go about doing this.

Most people are familiar with the first type (providing useful content that educates and solves specific pain points for your audience).

The other is a bit more subtle, but when done right (like Vidyard and Hubspot have done)… it can be the x-factor that unlocks massive growth for your company.

Watch the full ep to get the deep dive on the strategy, and then drop me a comment letting me know which of the steps you plan to test this quarter to spur more growth for your SaaS company.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

+ Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell
+ Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Resource: High Tempo Testing™ - Define a Solid North Star Metric & Identify Experiments Worth Running That Drive You Closer To Predictable Growth - http://bit.ly/2INZx2M

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