This event, the second in a series of
Flight School workshops, focuses on the role of sales in building your business, and key factors to ensure sales success. The intense 1-day workshop is presented by Northern Colorado’s
Flight School and
The Business Catapult, and is designed to help:
- Entrepreneurs starting a business or thinking about starting a business;
- Businesses that have started and need help to grow; and
- Existing companies that want to become more entrepreneurial.
The workshop focuses on the following questions:
- When is boostrapping the right approach for growing a business?
- Is it better to "Build, then Sell" or "Sell, then Build"?
- How to determine early on whether a product or service is sellable?
- What are the keys to sales success for your business?
- When can sales be outsourced? When can sales not be oursourced?
- How to manage and track the sales process?
Expected Outcomes:
Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the role of the entrepreneur in sales, the role of sales in financing the business, how to integrate the sales function into the rest of the business to maximize its effectiveness, and how to determine the most appropriate channel mix to meet business objectives during any phase of their business.
EVENT: Taking Off With Sales
LOCATION: Front Range Community College, 4616 S. Shields, Fort Collins, CO 80526
CLASSROOM: East Conference Room, Longs Peak Student Center
DIRECTIONS: Click here for map.
INSTRUCTORS: Bert Vermeulen, John VanderHorst
COST: $99 pre-registration before November 6, 2005; $119 starting November 7, 2005 ($49 for students of accredited academic institutions showing a valid student id at the door)
REGISTRATION: Register on-line below, or register at the door. Note: registration will close after 30 participants have signed up, so sign up early!
The workshop consists of:
- Comparison discussion of businesses that have succeeded and failed as a result of different sales strategies.
- Shared best practices and references that have been developed by:
- Bert Vermeulen, an experienced entrepreneur and successful consultant to other entrepreneurs;
- Other successful consultants and entrepreneurs;
- The Business Catapult, a Denver-based network of consultants and entrepreneurs; and
- The Entrepreneurial Standards Forum; an open non-profit Colorado-based organization that is developing standards for entrepreneurial processes.
- Case study materials presented by a successful Colorado entrepreneur.
- Discussion of the participants’ specific situation and questions.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own questions, problems, and success stories to share and work on with others.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
Bert Vermeulen grew up in Boulder County; lived in Fort Collins while working for HP; managed, grew and helped sell a manufacturing business in Longmont; and now is in the business of helping entrepreneurs. His experience includes:
- A strong academic background in engineering and business.
- Building a manufacturing business, selling it, and then buying and funding other similar businesses in Mexico, Ireland and Hungary.
- Working with over 30 entrepreneurial companies since 2002. Some of these have since gone out of business, some have not gone anywhere, some have muddled through, and some have been spectacularly successful.
- Co-leading an open, non-profit organization that is developing standards for entrepreneurial processes, the Entrepreneurial Standards Forum.
John VanderHorst grew up the Netherlands and moved permanently to Colorado in 1960. He has a particular knack for building valuable businesses in niche markets on a shoestring budget by coming up with clever products sold in clever ways. His background and relevant experience includes:
- An engineering degree and career at Wilkerson Corporation in Englewood. He initially worked in engineering and was awarded several patents. He became VP of engineering after 3 years and later served as VP of international sales and marketing.
- While in his forties, he left the security of the large company to start a business based on an innovative pump design. After tooling and introducing this product, he discovered that the market was too small and difficult. So he started again with a different pump design, which he patented, productized, and sold. He was able to grow this business to a size that allowed him to retire by selling the company to Wilkerson, his original employer, and retire at age 48.
- While in his mid-60’s he found a problem with his RV, which he solved with a new invention (a towing mirror that uses a suction cup that can be seen at www.townsee.com). In the process he did the funding, inventing, product development, manufacturing, sales and promotion himself (with the help of his wife) until the business could start making a profit. The business is now doing very well and John VanderHorst has been able to go into semi-retirement while others keep the business going and growing.
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