Why the right sales and maketing strategy is vital to win scale-up funding

Over 60% of scale-ups lose out on funding because their sales and marketing strategies aren't credible (Scale-up Capital).

And, it's not hard to see why.

Most founders are expert in their spaces. They are brilliant at tech. They've amazing niche consulting skills. They've nailed providing a specialist service. But they are not career sales and marketing experts that have been around the scale-up loop a few times.

What I'm not suggesting is that founders are terrible at selling. Clearly they are not - or they wouldn't be in a position to go for scale-up funding. More likely, they've got their businesses to a certain scale via trusted connections, recommendations and referrals.

But this won't win the growth that funders want to secure their return...and put in their cash.

What funders want to see is a measured and costed plan that a. secures short-term growth b. builds trust that can win medium and long-term growth. This step-change requires careful consideration. For example:

How is the business positioned vs competitors?

Why would punters go for the new kid on the block vs others?

Is the market big enough and accessible enough to secure the growth required?

Is a direct to market model realistic?

Is a channel sales model the way to go?

Can the two mix? Which markets?

What's the cost of each approx?

How do they each impact margins?

What skills are required? And tech? And content?

Who will make it happen? Do they have a track record?

What's the timeline?

How does your plan affect cash-burn plus reflect believable and likely sales?

These are just a few of the questions that scale-up founders need to be ready to answer.

Shout me if you'd like a partner to make this happen for you. I love this stuff!