Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2006
BizLogx Partners with TechColumbus To Help Entrepreneurs Get Sales Savvy
(COLUMBUS) – Starting a high-tech company requires a broad set of skills. Chief among them is the ability to sell. BizLogx, a Columbus-based sales and marketing consulting firm, recently partnered with TechColumbus to hold a 3.5-day workshop designed to teach proven sales techniques to new business owners.
“Engineers and inventors often have fears about selling because they think it’s about how well you dress or how gregarious you are,” said Chris Kiminas, co-founder and principal of BizLogx. “Our approach breaks the sales function into a process that engineers can follow. We’ve found that technology professionals really relate to it because they know how to follow a process.”
The workshop took place on February 8, 2006 at TechColumbus’s Business Technology Center. TechColumbus is a catalyst for technology-based economic development in Central Ohio. TechColumbus was formed through the merger of the Columbus Technology Council, a leading membership organization for tech based businesses, and the Business Technology Center, which is regarded as one of the best technology business incubators in the country.
“This was our first workshop with BizLogx, but we’re already planning another one due to the enthusiastic response of our clients,” said Steve Clark, VP of incubation services for TechColumbus. “We’re being driven by our stakeholders to help startup companies increase value either through sales revenue, investment capital or grant revenue. It’s our mission to help these companies create high paying jobs and you can’t do that if you can’t sell.”
Strategic Thinking Industries (STI) is a TechColumbus resident company that offers technology services to health care professionals. Three of its executives attended the sales workshop. “I’d been through other sales training before but it wasn’t as directly applicable to start-up companies as this was,” said Ross Kayuha, CEO of STI. “I was surprised at the extra value provided by this class. It did a great job of getting someone who is not experienced ready for the initial sales call and follow up. It will definitely change the way we are currently doing sales.”
According to John Huston, angel investor and principal of US Private Companies LLC, sales and marketing is unsurpassed in importance for any business plan. Huston said he rarely sees a plan where the sales and marketing process has been adequately thought through. “So frequently people just don’t do the math with any realism,” he said.
“One of the most critical aspects to angel investors is to understand how much sales and marketing risk exists. How are they going to sell their fabulous new product or service to anybody?” The type of detail that Huston and other angel investors look for requires a thorough understanding of prospecting, sales messaging, follow-up, negotiation and closing, the very topics the BizLogx workshop addressed.
The second BizLogx sales training workshop at TechColumbus is scheduled for June 7-10, 2006. “Ultimately we would like to have a series of seminars that deal with sales and marketing,” says Clark.
BizLogx is a consulting firm that helps companies improve their sales and marketing performance. The company offers workshops, customized materials and advisory services. BizLogx was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. They can be reached at (614) 355-0165 or on the web at www.bizlogx.com. More information about TechColumbus is available at www.techcolumbus.org.
Contact:
Chris Kiminas (614) 296-8836
Barbara Wayman, APR (614) 766-6878