The editorial theme for this issue of the OSBR is Sales Strategy. While "marketing" is everything a company does to build interest in its offers, "sales" consists of converting these offers into cash. By "sales strategy," we refer to all sales planning and process development activities leading up to the actual selling of a product or service.
In this issue of the OSBR, our authors provide a diversity of perspectives on sales strategy development and implementation, including the role of customer input.
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
Albert Einstein
"Trust is essential to good market operation because ultimately it decreases operating costs and risk exposure. A well-trusted marketplace will need to spend less in attracting customers and in managing their interactions, which means that it will be much easier to scale."
Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien
“Language as the technology of human extension whose powers of division and separation we know so well, may have been the Tower of Babel by which men sought to scale the highest heavens. Today computers hold out the promise of instant translation of any language into any other code or language.”
Marshall McLuhan
"How do you get people to come together over extended periods of time, working together, contributing different perspectives, different experiences and skill sets, to jointly problem solve over an extended period, and learn from each other in the process and scaffold towards new sets of knowledge that just are not available today?"
John Hagel III
"Treat others as you would like to be treated."
First incarnation of the Golden Rule, found in the Code of Hammurabi (1780 BC)
In this article, we describe the Keystone Off-The-Shelf (KOTS), a project to create a toolkit for platform owners. The toolkit will include everything that is required to operate a platform that supports a new approach to grow the revenue of small technology companies.
The organizations expected to benefit the most from the KOTS project are:
"Conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty."
Louisa May Alcott
The editorial theme for this issue of the OSBR is Keystone Companies. A keystone company is the member of a business ecosystem that owns, operates, and evolves the platform. The origin of the keystone concept is a good example of the importance of interdisciplinary lessons, which was the theme of last month's issue.
In this issue, the authors offer different perspectives on a new approach for small technology companies, industry associations and business development organizations to generate revenue. The new approach builds on the keystone company concept. A keystone company is the member of a business ecosystem that owns, operates, and evolves the platform.