Jan 23 2009
The majority of new products fail. Statistics on the exact percentage that fail may be a matter of some debate. Still, most product innovators and academics would agree that more than half of new products fail to meet their financial goals in the marketplace. Why? EcoStrategy Group has compiled a list of the top 10 [...]
Aug 27 2008
Most companies struggle with responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP). First comes, “Should we respond to this?” and then, “OMG, what did we get ourselves into?” Whether your company is a cleantech business or not, you’re likely to find yourself in the position of determining your response strategy. We’ll talk about how and why [...]
Jan 25 2008
In the debut issue of HBR Green (from Harvard Business School), Steve Bishop of design firm IDEO wrote an article entitled “Don’t Bother with the Green Consumer”. This is a catchy and provocative headline that obscures the real issue. I believe there is a “green consumer” market – i.e. consumers who prioritize sustainability above other [...]
Nov 15 2007
KJ’s recent post on ROI suggests that one way for Cleantech vendors to move beyond a straight ROI pitch is to sell higher in the organization where other factors can affect the decision process. After reading her post, I started thinking about what selling higher entails. It’s absolutely true that the needs, and the ability [...]
Nov 13 2007
Many clean technology vendors rely on return on investment (ROI) calculations to justify a sale. The idea is that customer makes an upfront investment and that investment (plus some) is paid back over a period of time. Many vendors will work with prospects to collect data and develop a set of assumptions about costs and [...]
Nov 08 2007
Why is an “elevator” pitch so important? And why is it so difficult? And how does it differ from the value proposition that KJ described in her last post? Our elevator pitch is important because it is the likely to be the first introduction a prospective customer or investor has to our company, and it’s [...]