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The Monthly Journal for Venture Partners and Enterprise Software Executives
October 2006
In This Issue
Venture Profile: Fred Sturgis, H.I.G. Ventures
CEO Spotlight: Art Mesher, The Descartes Systems Group Inc.
You Vote: Which group adds more value to a software startup?
What Would General George Patton Do If He Were VP of Sales
Vendors, Not All Revenue is Equal
Software M&A - 3Q Beats Entire 1H Spend
Executive Job Listings
Software Sales Jobs
Hiring Software ­Sales People can be Fast and Easy.
Does your HR Manager know about SoftwareSalesJobs? If not, your company is at a serious disadvantage. Every major software company in the world, including Google, FileNet, BEA, Sybase, Computer Associates, BMC, and SAP has used SoftwareSalesJobs.com to hire software ­sales, pre-sales, and post-sales professionals. Contact us today to find out why.

Visit: www.SoftwareSalesJobs.com for more information or to request a demo.
Venture Profile: Fred Sturgis, H.I.G. Ventures
By Angel Mehta, Managing Director, Sterling-Hoffman Executive Search
After co-founding Hambrecht & Quist's technology investment banking group and leading the firm's East Coast software practice, Fred Sturgis moved even closer to the action when he joined H.I.G. Ventures. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, sat down with Fred Sturgis to get the latest on software venture capital.
Read full article >>

CEO Spotlight: Art Mesher, The Descartes Systems Group Inc.
By Angel Mehta, Managing Director, Sterling-Hoffman Executive Search
The rise and fall and rise (again) of logistics software company Descartes Systems is a turnaround story for the ages. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Descartes' Chief Executive Officer Art Mesher about entitlement cultures, a gutsy, high-risk decision to win back customers, and creating an offer that customers guaranteeing success to customers, and how an internal game of musical chairs helped turn the company around.
Read full article >>

Which group adds more value to an early stage software company?

Sales
Engineering

What Would General George Patton Do If He Were VP of Sales
By Steve Martin, Author, "Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom"
When a German senior officer was captured toward the end of World War II, he said, "General Patton is the most feared general on all fronts. The tactics of the General are daring and unpredictable. General Patton is always the main topic of conversation. Where is he? When will he attack? Where? How? With what?" In sales, just as in war, there can be only one winner, and today's conqueror can quickly become tomorrow's vanquished. Learn what one of the greatest military minds in history has to teach you about defeating your enemies on the battlefield of business sales.
Read full article >>

Vendors, Not All Revenue is Equal
By Olin Thompson, Principal, Process ERP Partners
Very few companies can be good at everything. Although many executives see that "all dollars are green", the reality is that different types of revenue come at different costs. Be realistic on what is possible, how much you can afford to spend to get revenue, the timing of the expense versus the revenue and how much risk you are willing to accept. All revenue is green, but sometimes your revenue strategy can make your bottom line red.
Read full article >>

Software M&A - 3Q Beats Entire 1H Spend
By Ken Bender and David Legacki, Software Equity Group, L.L.C.
Software led all other industry sectors in total deal activity for 3Q06. Though the total number of software M&A transactions remained relatively flat (438 total deals) compared to 1Q06 and 2Q06, there was an astonishing $30.5 billion spent on M&A transactions in 3Q06, more than the entire first half of 2006 ($25.9 billion). The quarter's impressive total was boosted by six mega-deals. The median valuation of software industry M&A transactions in 3Q06 was 2.7x, on par with 3Q05 (2.7x) and an increase over 2Q06 (2.3x).
Read full article >>

Top Interviews Top Articles

Executive Job Listings
9920A - Director of Sales, Strategic Asset Optimization Austin, TX
Versata Inc., a subsidiary of Trilogy requires a Director of Sales, who will be responsible for growing Artemis business in the Product Portfolio Management sector with a specific focus on the utilities and energy industries. The target accounts are each of the 50 states. This position requires a strong understanding of selling to complex regulated businesses and working closely with functional leads across the business. You will work with a presales engineer to: Explain the technical and business differentiation of the software solutions and understand Enterprise Project Management (EPM) opportunities and challenges in order to dialogue with targeted customers on solution paths. You should have experience in the utilities and energy industries, particularly related to strategic asset management, maintenance, and employment knowledge of EPM best practices and challenges/opportunities.

9352M - Vice President of Sales Chicago, IL
A privately held storage and infrastructure management software company with premier venture backing requires a senior sales executive to build on current customer momentum and recruit a high performance direct sales team. Candidate will be expected to have a lengthy track record in bringing high value, technical enterprise solutions to market on behalf of early stage software companies. A minimum of 10 years' enterprise software sales leadership experience is required as is the ability to lead by example in the field. An ideal background would include tenures with notable systems management and/or storage vendors.

7631K - Chief Marketing Officer Northeast
A leading developer of logistics management and supply chain software solutions is seeking a Senior Marketing Executive. The ideal candidate will have led all facets of software marketing (including product marketing, marketing communications, investor relationships, and field marketing) for a software company that has achieved at least $100m in revenue. Candidate with some tenure at companies such as: i2, SAP, Peoplesoft, Lawson, Manugistics, Oracle, or another 'mega-suite' vendor is preferred.

8070M - Sr. Vice President of Field Operations Boston, MA
Candidate must have at least 10 years of enterprise applications sales experience, preferably within front office segment. Ideal candidate will have served as VP of Sales in past, managed at least $75m revenue unit for period of 3+ years, and have at least one successful tenure at market leading ISV such as: Documentum, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, etc.

7438J - Chief Executive Officer Midwest
An early stage infrastructure software venture with a foothold in the Banking and Insurance markets is in need of an accomplished Chief Executive Officer who will be responsible for overseeing new client generation, product direction and the building of a professional team. A track record in scaling from $1m to over $20m is essential as is extensive domain expertise in the enterprise space.

9100K - Vice President Worldwide Sales West Coast/Northwest
A leader in customized online information capture and dissemination requires a VP WW Sales to oversee and develop the sales organization, currently with a presence in the US and Europe. Through the initial milestones, our client requires an executive with experience in building upon a strong foundation as the company seeks to grow from under $5m to over $20m in revenue. The ideal candidate will have a minimum 5 years' executive management experience, preferably in content management, business intelligence, and analytics solutions. Candidate must reside in the San Francisco Bay area.



Note: We appreciate all submissions, but only qualified executives will be contacted. All senior sales executives are encouraged to post resumes on www.SoftwareSalesJobs.com

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