Software Business Conference 2007

Three Bootcamps

How to Take Your Software Company to $30 Million and More: 12 Tools For CEOs to Manage Growth
Bob Norton, C-Level Connect
Oct. 3, 2007 - 1pm - 5pm and
Oct. 4, 2007 - 9am - 5pm -- CEO Bootcamp

Cost $1,295 -- Early Bird $995 Before August 31

Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Workshop
Rick Chapman, Softletter
Oct. 3, 2007 - 1pm - 5pm and
Oct. 4, 2007 - 9am - 5pm -- CEO Bootcamp

Cost $795 -- Early Bird $695 Before August 31

Critical Issues in Software Revenue Recognition: A Discussion of Problem Areas under SOP 97-2, SOP 98-9, SOP 81-1 and Related Service Transactions
Ashwinpaul (Tony) Sondhi, A.C. Sondhi and Associates, LLC
Oct. 4,2007 - 9am - 5pm -- CFO Bootcamp

Cost $995 -- Early Bird $895 Before August 31

Four Workshops - More to Come!

Channel Sales Cycle® Workshop
Robert Cohen, Integrated mar.com
Oct. 1, 2007 - 10:30am - 5pm -- Channel Workshop

Cost Free to Software Business Attendees! Pre-registration is required

Web Globalization Retooled: New Strategies and New Technologies for the Software Industry
Ben Sargent, Common Sense Advisory
Oct. 1, 2007 - 1pm - 5pm -- Globalization Workshop

Cost $295 -- Early Bird $245 Before August 31

ROI Selling Workshop
Michael Nick, ROI 4 Sales
Oct. 1, 2007 - 1pm - 5 pm -- Sales Workshop

Cost $295 -- Early Bird $245 Before August 31

Selling Up Selling Out
Ward Carter, Corum Group
Oct. 3, 2007 - 2pm - 5pm -- M&A Workshop

Cost Free to Software Business Attendees! Pre-registration is required

Writing Winning Buyer-Focused Sales Proposals
Bob Kantin, SalesProposals.com
Oct. 1, 2007 - 8:30am – 12pm - Sales Proposal Workshop

Cost $295 -– Early Bird $245 before August 31

Agile Product Development Workshop
Luke Hohmann, Enthiosys
Oct 1, 2007 – 10am – 5pm

Cost $795 –- Early Bird $645 Before August 31

Three Bootcamps

How to Take Your Software Company to $30 Million and More: 12 Tools For CEOs to Manage Growth
Bob Norton, C-Level Connect
Oct. 3, 2007 - 1pm - 5pm and
Oct. 4, 2007 - 9am - 5pm -- CEO Bootcamp

Cost $1,295 -- Early Bird $995 Before August 31

This one and a half day program is exclusively for CEOs of software companies that want to grow into large businesses. It is the only program of this kind available that teaches twelve tools that make up a professional management system for getting your company from early revenue to rapid growth. You will learn about the natural stages of business development and how your management style must slowly shift from entrepreneurial to professional management to cross this chasm. Bob Norton has grown two companies to over $100 million in sales from startup and spent over a year compiling what he learned as a high-tech CEO for 17 years into this intensive seminar. Expect twice as much information as your typical seminar, as this is designed with CEOs in mind.

Accelerate your business, get step-by-step “How to” information and roadmaps and leave with a plan that can add millions in value to your business over the next year.

Sessions include:

A Roadmap to Develop Your Corporate Vision
Positioning and Competitive Landscape Maps
The 20 Skills Your Management Team Needs For Rapid Growth
Innovation tools and Risk Mitigation
Market Research – The Right Way
Product and Service Development Productivity Boosting
Entrepreneurial & Intrapreneurial Marketing
Why Everyone Needs a Branding Strategy
Using Outside Consultants More Effectively
Key Steps You Must Take to Move from Each Stage to the Next Level
Experiential Workshop using the tools

By special arrangement this session is only $995 with early registration, a 55% savings off the normal $2,195 price of this seminar, when done in conjunction with The Software Business Conference. Or $1,295 after early-bird deadline .

Mr. Robert Norton, President and CEO of C-Level Enterprises (formerly Condor Enterprises) has over 15 years as full-time President and CEO of numerous successful companies. Two grew to over $100 million in annual sales while Mr. Norton was there and one grew from $0 to over $1 billion in revenue today. His experience spans all key disciplines needed to start, grow and exit businesses in several industries. He can provide a breath of experience and perspective across all disciplines that only experienced CEOs can.
With 22 total years experience, including former positions as Senior Software Architect, VP Engineering and CTO, Mr. Norton can understand both deep technical issues and strategic management issues. So often operations, product development, sales and marketing issues are deeply interwoven, requiring multidisciplinary experience to effectively solve problems. Mr. Norton’s breath of experience allows for complete validation and/or improvement of entire business models for maximum growth and profit. He is also a specialist at designing long-term competitive advantage into businesses so profit margins can be maintained and stockholders build sustainable revenue and profits that can justify high multiples on exit.

Testimonials and more information available at: www.CLevelBootCamp.com or call (508) 381-1450.

Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Workshop
Rick Chapman, Softletter
Oct. 3, 2007 - 1pm - 5pm and
Oct. 4, 2007 - 9am - 5pm -- CEO Bootcamp

Cost $795 -- Early Bird $695 Before August 31

SaaS is a quiet tsunami sweeping through the software industry. Research firms such as Gartner predict that the SaaS market segment will grow from $6 billion in 2006 to $20 billion by 2011. At Softletter, we believe those figures are conservative.

If you're a software company selling a SaaS product, thinking about it, or one that will be impacted by SaaS (and there isn't any software company that won't be impacted by SaaS), Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Workshop is a *must* attend. For a-day-and-a-half learn from your peers and Softletter how companies are growing and succeeding in the fast growing SaaS market.

Conference Agenda
Keynote Address: Merrill R. (Rick) Chapman, Softletter's Managing Editor and Publisher will discuss the latest results from Softletter's SaaS Best Practices and Results survey. The report covers current trends in SaaS pricing, sales models, infrastructure, development, professional services and much more. Rick will be providing detailed analysis of the results and examining both the opportunities and the pitfalls uncovered by the report.

The Strange Case of Dr. SaaS and Mr. License: Managing both SaaS and licensed product lines in your company. How do you price, market, sell both models and avoid tripping over your own two sales feet? You'll learn how in this session.

SaaS Sales Compensation Models: In SaaS, compensating your sales personnel is far trickier than with licensed model. How do you compensate a telesales and direct sales force when your sales payoff can be months and even years in the future as product takes hold in a company? This session will teach you the different approaches and help you decide which best fits your company.

SaaS Pricing Models: Developing a SaaS pricing model that doesn't leave money on the table is much trickier and harder to do than it seems. Learn how to develop a pricing strategy that maximizes your company's revenues and profits.

SaaS: How Does Your Garden Grow?: In many cases, SaaS sales start out small and grow big. This session examines best practices, tactics, and strategies for growing your SaaS sales AFTER the sale.

From Licensed to SaaS: Has your firm made the decision to move to SaaS and abandon the licensed model? This session explains how to safely make the transition without killing your revenues (and your company).

Making SaaS Safe: The early ASP model was heavily criticized for failing to meet customer's worries over data safety and integrity. Government sales are particularly difficult in this regard. Find out how SaaS companies can overcome these concerns and make the sale.

SaaS Channels: SaaS channels are rapidly developing as the SaaS model takes hold across the software industry. What types of margins should you be offering? How do you segment and manage your channel in a SaaS world? How you manage customer "ownership?" This session digs deep into these issues and provides answers.

What Happens When it All Goes Wrong? Think SaaS companies don't have to deal with things like escrow agreements? Think again. They do, and if you're not prepared, the impact on your bottom line can be devastating. Learn how to protect your company and your bottom line from disaster and service failures.

Professional Services and SaaS: In the SaaS model, traditional service revenue sources, such as maintenance and deployment, go away or are greatly reduced. But SaaS companies are learning how to generate new sources of revenue by teaching clients how to leverage their SaaS investments and by acquiring increased domain expertise. Discover how you can replicate their success and increase services revenues.

Platform, Platform, Who's Got the Platform?: Thinking about developing for one of the new SaaS platforms? AppExchange? Google? Amazon? .Net? This session discusses the issues and costs of committing to some of the most popular SaaS platforms and what you should do to minimize your exposure while increasing your sales opportunities.

The SaaS White Glove Service Paradigm: As we've discussed in Softletter, succeeding in SaaS means providing your customer's with "white glove" customer service. Learn what you need to do and how to do it to ensure your customers stay happy and continue buying more subscriptions.

Special Bonus for All Attendees Every attendee to Softletter's Marketing and Selling Software as a Service Workshop will receive a complimentary copy of the latest edition of Softletter's SaaS Handbook. Packed with information on how software firms are selling, and marketing SaaS, structuring their services, compensating, their sales personnel, managing their infrastructure, and developing and updating their products. More information at: www.softletter.com/pages/SaaS_report.shtml

Special Extra Bonus! In addition to the Softletter SaaS Handbook, each attendee will also receive a complimentary copy of Softletter editor Rick Chapman's latest book, In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters, 2nd Edition. Already a business classic, Stupidity contains a hilarious but accurate and detailed analysis of the crash and burn of the early 1999-2001 ASP model as well as an examination of why the ASP market recovered under the revived SaaS banner. More information at www.insearchofstupidity.com

Softletter's managing editor and publisher is Merrill R. (Rick Chapman). Rick is the author of The Product Marketing Handbook for Software , In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters and the SIIA's US Software Distribution Guide . Rick has worked and consulted in the industry for such industry pioneers as MicroPro (WordStar) and Ashton-Tate and consulted for wide variety of software and high technology firms such as IBM, Novell, Microsoft, Sun and many others. In his career Rick has worked as a programmer, sales engineer, salesman, product manager, and VP of marketing and sales. His latest book is the second release of In Search of Stupidity, released this autumn. Now in its 23rd year of publication, Softletter is the leading source of hard data about the software business.

For more information at http://www.softletter.com/pages/conferences_seminars.shtml

Cost $995 -- Early Bird $895 Before August 31

This workshop is specifically designed for CFOs, controllers, financial reporting managers and others responsible for understanding and applying current accounting rules.

The advantage of our programs is that we use our extensive reporting and disclosure database to illustrate the application and implementation concerns of financial reporting professionals. Therefore the programs emphasize the perspective of users of financial information. As a result, participants in our workshops are engaged in a unique and rigorous debate on financial reporting, encompassing the rationale for the accounting standards, their implementation, and the viewpoint of capital market participants such as financial analysts and investment advisors.

A.C. Sondhi and Associates, LLC, is a financial advisory firm that develops analytical tools and databases for investment and financial reporting purposes. These tools are marketed to institutional and individual clients around the world. In conjunction with this activity, the firms' principal, Ashwinpaul (Tony) Sondhi, conducts on-site programs and off-site executive seminars that focus on financial reporting, disclosure and analysis issues for companies and their top executives. We have a dynamic consulting practice in the areas of financial reporting, valuation, earnings quality, securitization and credit analysis. Ashwinpaul "Tony" C. Sondhi is currently a member of the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). He has been a member of the Global Financial Reporting Advocacy Committee of the CFA Institute; the Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC) of the AICPA and the Planning Subcommittee of the AcSEC; the Financial Accounting Policy Committee of the CFA Institute; the FASB Task Force on Accounting for Impairments of Long-lived Assets; and the Statement of Cash Flows Steering Committee of the International Accounting Standards Committee. Mr. Sondhi was also an advisor to the FASB on its' project comparing U.S. and International Financial Reporting Standards.

For more details go to www.acsondhi.com

Six Workshops

Channel Sales Cycle® Workshop
Robert Cohen, Integrated mar.com
Oct. 1, 2007 - 10:30am - 5pm -- Channel Workshop

Cost Free to Software Business Attendees! Pre-registration is required

The software industry seems to be in a perpetual stage of change. New distribution methods, SaaS, licensing, managed services, recurring revenue streams, and the increased focus on the SMB marketplace have created havoc and opportunities for software vendors. This leads to two big questions:

What is the role of the IT Channel in this new paradigm?
How can software vendors effectively leverage the Channel?

The Channel Sales Cycle defines the process that successful channel programs need to consider:

Reach, engage, recruit
Educate, motivate, enable, reward
Leverage relationships, demand generation, lead management
Measure, monitor, track, modify, renew, winback

Objective: To assist software vendors in developing and implementing efficient, cost effective channel partner programs that show consistent growth with measurable, positive ROI.
Rationale: With the growing focus on the hard to reach small and mid-size businesses, the need for leveraging the skills, relationships and reach of VARs to provide service and support for these businesses is greater than ever. However, VARs typically are not business oriented and require assistance in selling and managing their relationships.
Attendees will benefit by learning about:

How the channel is structured including its primary strengths and weaknesses.
The importance of working with the channel.
How to successfully work with the channel.
The importance of developing complete end-to-end channel sales procedures.
How to grow net new sales as opposed to focusing on nebulous measurements like increased ad click-throughs, number of channel program initiatives they run or the number of new partners recruited.
How to avoid the “share shift” circle: merely shifting sales between direct and channel or between distributors or between channel partners.
How to create strong relationships with channel partners.
Accountability and measuring ROI on marketing expenditures.
How to develop strong brand awareness/preference in a rapidly changing product focused industry.

An entrepreneur from the age of 13, his first full time job was with KPMG in their newly created entrepreneurial group, while also owning and running a unique chain of retail stores. At 24, Robert became Canada's youngest full business professor. In his second year of teaching, in 1980 he founded Integrated mar.com. Under his leadership, mar.com has become an international IT channel marketing company that has developed and implemented strategic go-to-market programs for 350 IT companies. In 1993 mar.com expanded into publishing and launched eChannelLine in 1997 - currently the world's leading IT channel eNewsletter, providing 200,000 channel members with a daily synopsis of channel related news. mar.com also publishes ConnectIT - the only daily online B2B channel advocate eNewsletter and Channel Advisor - providing vendors with advice on how to engage the channel.

For more information go to www.Integratedmar.com

Web Globalization Retooled: New Strategies and New Technologies for the Software Industry
Ben Sargent, Common Sense Advisory
Oct. 1, 2007 - 1pm - 5pm -- Globalization Workshop

Cost $295 -- Early Bird $245 Before August 31

English-speaking customers represent 40 or more percent of the world market for many software developers, but meeting the linguistic needs of the other 60 percent means creating materials – product, marketing, support, website, and other items – in dozens of other languages. Further, a great deal of software business is conducted through websites. What is the impact on a software company looking to go global? How important is language in the online customer experience? How can your company maximize its return on developing products for global markets? Common Sense Advisory presents this pre-conference workshop tailored to help you align tactical activities with the strategic international goals of your software company.

The workshop will provide an overview of the following topics and trends:

-> Brain-bending data from an eight-country survey of 2,430 online buyers and the impact of English vs. local-language websites, product information, and support.

-> Proven techniques for managing global software sales & marketing - Marketing executives oversee dozens or hundreds of web properties, each with competing demands for brand consistency and local flavor. How is your organization dealing with this?

-> Innovative global content deployment for software companies (online training, sales support, and information) - A look at web and software distribution services and how the market has changed (do you need local support and a local reseller in your target international markets?)

-> Smart technology for managing localization and translation – Plus, career-boosting buzz words you’ll need to know to avoid being broadsided by development (from internationalization to localization and more)

Attendees will:

-> Take home hard data on how language and other factors impact customer behavior to use in developing your business case for web investment.

-> Receive a rapid but solid, practical overview of the challenges, opportunities, trends, and business drivers involved in developing and deploying a global business strategy that leads with the internet but reaches deep into the rest of the business.

-> Gain a deep understanding of the people, process, and technology implications of globalization and localization.

-> Learn to identify and prioritize global and domestic multicultural market opportunities within the software development industry.

* All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the firm's white paper: "Going from Simple Translation to Successful Website Transactions."

Ben Sargent as a senior analyst with research and consulting firm Common Sense Advisory. He is responsible for leading business globalization, localization, and translation research initiatives as well as consulting on globalization assessment projects. Prior to joining Common Sense Advisory, Sargent held positions at Lionbridge, Transclick, and iXL. He was also a member of the marketing team at International Communications where he was the founder and managing director of the Webstream & Interactive division. Throughout his career, Ben has worked for firms providing language services, developing computer-assisted translation technology, and creating global websites for large multinationals.

For more information contact www.commonsenseadvisory.com

ROI Selling Workshop
Michael Nick, ROI 4 Sales
Oct. 1, 2007 - 1pm - 5 pm -- Sales Workshop

Cost $295 -- Early Bird $245 Before August 31

In this highly interactive workshop based on the best selling book ROI Selling, Michael Nick will cover two major issues every software sales professional and executive faces: “How do we define, prove and measure our value?” And, “How do we implement a consistent value based selling approach within sales, marketing & professional services?” The goal of this workshop is to provide an ROI blueprint to address the sales roadblocks your company is facing today. The workshop is broken into three segments:

Each participant of your team will gain a better understanding of why buy, why now, and why from you. Your deliverable from this exercise is the ROI Selling Value Matrix.

Next, you will build a series of questions that your sales force can use to capture prospect key pains, current cost of status quo and estimating the value your organization can deliver.

Finally, we discuss how to position ROI throughout your unique sales process.

This workshop will help you reduce discounting, shorten sales cycles and sell larger broader software deals. Each participant receives a copy of ROI Selling and a workbook consisting of templates, training materials, and presentation materials.

Michael Nick is president and founder of ROI4Sales , Inc. and author of ROI Selling (Dearborn 2004), Why Johnny can’t sell and How to Create the Perfect ROI. He is a nationally recognized expert in value estimation and ROI and conducts several public workshops and seminars throughout the year. He has published several white papers on ROI including ROI in your sales process, ROI after the sale (360 Degree ROI), The ROI on ROI, and the most popular paper and title of his new book, “Why Johnny Can’t Sell (Kaplan Publishing available Aug. 2006).”

For more information go to www.ROI4sales.com

Selling Up Selling Out
Ward Carter, Corum Group
Oct. 3, 2007 - 2pm - 5pm -- M&A Workshop

Cost Free to Software Business Attendees! Pre-registration is required

Are you thinking about an exit strategy that takes advantage of today hot M&A market and nets you what you deserve for your company?

Then you will want to attend this special mini session of the one day Selling Up, Selling Out conference. This conference is the most attended executive educational symposium in history for software and IT companies; since 1990 over half a trillion in deal value has been executed by attendees!

This half day session is from 2-5 pm...however, instead of the normal $495 tuition fee, attendees of the Software Business conference can attend for FREE. You will learn how to position, prepare, value, negotiate and execute an M&A transaction for maximum value, and how weave through the SOX due diligence minefield and not be one of the many M&A casualties. A 250 page reference book will be provided.

This is a must attend session for anyone serious about taking advantage of today's hot market.

Mr. Carter's technology background includes a variety of management positions with the Burroughs Corporation (later Unisys). Later, as vice president of a Wall Street investment firm and as principal in a regional venture firm, Mr. Carter raised capital for ventures in computer hardware, software, and biotechnology. As an executive for a Seattle-based archival storage software company he attracted venture capital and assisted with the eventual acquisition of the company by a larger competitor. As president of InfoMatrix, and later Discovery Sales + Marketing, Mr. Carter provided sales and marketing consulting support to executives of emerging software companies. He joined Corum in 1997 and has successfully managed numerous software company mergers and acquisitions worldwide.

For more information go to www.corumgroup.com

Writing Winning Buyer-Focused Sales Proposals
Bob Kantin, SalesProposals.com
Oct. 1, 2007 - 8:30am – 12pm - Sales Proposal Workshop

Cost $295 – Early Bird $245 before August 31

If you sell in an industry that dictates the use of proposals, you need to attend this workshop. Software companies often struggle with the sales proposal production process because:

Most sales professionals write their own proposals-no "company-approved" models are available.
Sales professionals often take an excessive amount of time to produce mediocre sales proposals.
No one in the sales organization has responsibility for proposal content, format, structure, and packaging.
Few measure their Proposal Close Ratios, which provides a good way to evaluate the effectiveness of sales proposals in the sales process.

This workshop will show attendees how to write winning, buyer-focused sales proposals that can have a tremendous impact on revenues and reinforce the need for their sales professionals to sell consultatively.
Bob Kantin is founder and president of SalesProposals.com. He has years of experience designing winning, buyer-focused sales proposals. He has written several books on the topic and in 2006 coauthored Why Johnny Can't Sell …and What to Do About It with Michael Nick, President of ROI4Sales. The workshop will include a complimentary copy of his new book, Sales Professional's Guide to Writing Winning Proposals. www.SalesProposals.com

Agile Product Development Workshop
Luke Hohmann, Enthiosys
Oct 1, 2007 – 10am – 5pm

Cost $795 – Early Bird $645 Before August 31

The roles, responsibilities, collaborations, practices, and deliverables of a product manager change dramatically in the context of Agile Software Development. Instead of preparing Marketing Requirements Documents that defines all of the requirements at the beginning of a project, you’re asked to prioritize a dynamic backlog (whatever that is). Instead of managing a small number of (typically) infrequent releases, you’re asked to deal with a continual stream of potentially releasable software, which causes a whole host of challenges in marketing, pricing, channel management and sales training (to name just a few).

In this course, we’ll cover how various aspects of the product managers job changes in the context of Agile Software Development practices (such as Scrum, DSDM, Lean, and XP). We’ll also cover what doesn’t change in the context of Agile. Along the way, we’ll provide you with a range of tools designed to help you master Agile Software Development practices.

Luke Hohmann is the founder and CEO of Enthiosys, Inc., a Silicon Valley software product management and product strategy consulting firm. Luke is the author of three books: Innovation Games; Beyond Software Architecture: Creating and Sustaining Winning Solutions; and Journey of the Software Professional: A Sociology of Software Development. Prior to founding Enthiosys, Luke was VP of U.S. Business Development for Aladdin Knowledge Systems. www.enthiosys.com