There's something so powerful about asking the right questions of the right people. FYI is about the point where tech and culture collide, hopefully for the better.

These aren't droll interviews, grab a cuppa and join the conversation as we connect with those who've stumbled into an area of influence and are trying to use it to lift up more people and make a difference in the way we work and the way we tech.

A founder thrives on a mix of expertise and passion, which leads to high conversion rates. Founder-led sales is a must for your first customers and first investors. These conversations are the key to unlocking your USP and to nurturing those first brand advocates. Plus, that rapid feedback cycle helps you zero in on your ideal customer (ICP).

But it’s not enough when you’re ready to expand past your network, and especially if you want to reach new markets and verticals. It’s a leap to go from winning early deals to addressing the broader market and growing the organization. Simply adding bodies to your team and expecting growth doesn’t work over time.

In this live conversation — bring your questions! — we talk to those who have successfully helped hundreds of startups scale out past that founder sales cycle. 

We explain how to:
- Identify your ICP
- Strategize for expanding to new verticals and markets
- Build systems and team-based processes
- Build and manage international teams to deliver your international strategy
- Design a cohesive funnel strategy where inbound marketing synchronizes with lead generation and channel marketing all the way down to your active sales pipeline
- Become data-centric
...to give up some of that control over the whole process!

Please bring your own questions and join:
- Rick Pizzoli, CEO, Sales Force Europe, which since 2003 has helped tech startups scale rapidly in Europe with local expertise that lowers your risk. An American based in Madrid, Rick has been managing distributed sales teams and international tech expansions for over 25 years.
- Greg Dunne, Managing Partner, SFE Partners, which is focused on driving sales efficiency for SaaS, technology, and private equity firms. Greg has spent 15 years in close partnership with global entrepreneurs, investors, and C-suite executives, shaping their sales and go-to-market strategies and mapping paths for accelerated revenue growth, with an eye towards maximizing company valuation.

How to Scale Your Startup Beyond Founder-led Sales

No continent is the same. No country is either. As you look to take your tech company abroad, it’s important to understand the nuances of doing business in each target market — before you set up a whole HQ and permanent contracts there. Global expansion starts at home. First do an internal review of what works in your homebase. Then set a clear set of revenue objectives and budgets. Only then can you perform a market review, with local business culture at front of mind, and map out your pathway across Europe and Asia.   In this talk, we will combine our global expansion experience to help you understand at the local level: what type of meeting to hold in these hybrid times, the length of deal,  individual decision making, and how to tackle target verticals in different countries.  Please bring your own questions and join:  - Rick Pizzoli, CEO and co-founder, Sales Force Europe. Since 2003, Sales Force Europe has been helping tech startups scale rapidly in Europe with local expertise that lowers your risk. An American based in Madrid, Rick has been managing distributed sales teams and international tech expansions for over 25 years. - Thomas Merchant, senior manager of brand communications, Globalization Partners. Since 2012, Globalization Partners has been the Employer of Record, enabling you to build your remote team anywhere in the world. Based in France, Thomas has 30+ years of B2C and B2B business experience across 50+countries on 6 continents conducting business in English, French, Spanish & Japanese. - James Maximilian Kwa, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Asia Market Entry. Founded in 2016, Asia Market Entry provides a low-cost, low-risk approach for enterprise software companies that want to expand and gain a foothold into the Asia Pacific region. Based in Singapore, James has a demonstrated history working for and with F-500 Global companies in consulting, tech, strategy and business development.

Guide to Closing Your First Deals in Europe vs Asia

Hybrid working — a custom blend of remote, in-office, full-time, part-time, and on-contract teams — is having a moment. It’s a simple way to respond to the uncertainty we are facing this year and probably will for at least the start of 2022. But that’s good because, eventually, as your tech company scales up and around the world, you will inherently have a hybrid team. And the hybrid model of work is the best way to hire the best people for the job, where they can do their best work.  Now’s the time to learn how to manage hybrid teams to get the most out of everyone. So who better to talk to than two managers of global organizations that have been distributed and hybrid teams from Day One:  - Rick Pizzoli, CEO and co-founder, Sales Force Europe. Since 2003, Sales Force Europe has been helping tech startups scale rapidly in Europe with local expertise that lowers your risk. Rick has been managing distributed sales teams and international tech expansions for over 25 years.  - Jennifer McGuire, strategic partnerships, Globalization Partners. Since 2012, Globalization Partners has been the Employer of Record, enabling you to build your remote team anywhere in the world. Since 2015, Jennifer has helped build partnerships and close deals in tech sales and account management.  Who better to explain hybrid teams than those who manage hybrid sales teams? After all, the sales rep is your first hire in any expansion strategy.  In this livestream, in addition to the questions from our live audience, Jennifer and Rick will have a moderated discussion about the transition to hybrid, the ups and downs of managing a hybrid team, how to optimize communication, how to cultivate culture on a distributed team, and how to coach your hybrid sales team for success.   See the links for a free ebook to get you started off on your hybrid team management journey.

Managing a Hybrid Sales Team

Reliable. Stable. We all want predictable revenue. How does a modern tech company achieve this? Through careful recruitment and training of a numbers-focused sales team. And very metrics-focused lead generation. 

In this one-hour deep dive, Rick and Aaron will be answering your questions, as well as as covering the following topics:

- predictable revenue
- customer segmentation
- metrics to manage predictability
- how to stand out from the noise
- what’s working in European outbound lead gen and sales

We will also give a brief overview of Aaron and Rick’s international sales journeys and the consultancy brands that have brought value to so many businesses looking to rapidly expand. Aaron Ross has been running the outbound sales company Predictable Revenues for over 12 years, as well as is a startup board member and public speaker. Rick Pizzoli brings 25 years selling tech and scaling businesses across Europe, is CEO and founder of Sales Force Europe and a mentor and investor for several European startups.

How to Generate Predictable Revenue with Sales Teams and Lead Generation

Your first hire in a country is your most important. It's most likely a sales representative to test out how well your product or service will do in the new market. How do you go about finding the right local fit? How do you hire them without the rigamarole and legal repercussions of hiring someone in a new country? How do you then scale to build a world-class European sales team when you may not be able to fly there yourself? How do you hire the best person for the job no matter where you or they live? This episode will address these questions and the ones you bring to the livestream!

Leveraging outsourcing partners can answer a lot of these questions by providing support through the entire employee lifecycle from recruiting the right sales representative to hiring compliantly to driving them toward their goals. Both sales outsourcing and employers of record are ways to:
✓ increase your speed to new markets
✓ lower your risk with single vendor contracts that are 100% compliant
✓ rely on qualified, experienced partners

This episode welcomes insights from:
Diane Albano, CRO and CMO of Globalization Partners, the world's top Employer of Record present in 180 countries. Diane is an accomplished sales and marketing leader with a history of record-breaking results through the development of high-performing teams in orgs ranging from startup to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. She is skilled in building new and profitable distribution channels for technology, SaaS, and business intelligence. She has a deep international experience in establishing and growing global markets, including EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.

Rick Pizzoli, CEO and Founder of Sales Force Europe, has 25 years' experience bringing tech companies to new European markets with a mix of executive sales outsourcing, lead generation, international strategy, channel sales, inside sales and regional sales management, all with a focus on leveraging local sales expertise with existing networks.

How to Build Quality Sales Teams Remotely and Compliantly in Europe

Tech sales is about bridging the gap between technology and business value. But now, during this pandemic, you have to also bridge the gap of geography.

This conversation talks to two influencers in international tech sales:
- Rick Pizzoli, an American with 25 years selling tech across Europe, CEO and founder of Sales Force Europe
- Alan Mockridge, a British with 30 years selling tech across Asia, president Intralink for the Americas

We hate the phrase "new normal" so let's just call it now. Things are different and will be for at least another year or two. This call will take you through how to connect and reconnect with your leads, how to make better use of prospects' time, and how to leverage multi-channel messaging.

We know your time (and your customers' time) is more precious than ever so we will aim to make this webinar as actionable as possible and to help you learn how to be engaging in a way that qualifies (and disqualifies) your leads. Fast.

This is a conversation for tech startups and scale-ups looking to invest in international growth, especially targeting enterprises abroad. But really it's helpful to anyone looking to build a lasting customer relationship from a distance.

Remote Sales: How to reach your customers when planes are grounded

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