CONTENTS
Metrics & Benchmarks
Benchmarks: Product Management Best Practices
Benchmarks: OEM Contracts
Benchmarks: Field Sales Compensation
Benchmarks: Inside Sales Compensation
Benchmarks: Sales & Marketing Staffing
Benchmarks: Sales and Marketing, 2007
The Benchmark 50: Sales and Marketing, 2007
Benchmarks: Marketing Expenditures
Benchmarks: Sales & Marketing Cost Ratios
Benchmarks: Telesales Metrics
Marketing Ratios
Key Metrics: The Sales Pipeline
On Measuring the Cost of Customer Acquisition
Benchmarks: Upgrade Pricing
Benchmarks: Web Lead Generation
Benchmarks: Electronic Software Distribution
Trialware Conversion Rates
Eight Ways to Measure Web Support ROI
E-mail and Telephone Support Costs
Profit Metrics for Professional Services
Benchmarks: Services Margins and Contributions
The Top 50: Services Margins and Contributions
The Top 50: Profit Margins on Services
Benchmarks: Services Contribution
The Benchmark 50: Services Contribution
Benchmarks: Services Margins
The Top 50: Profit Margins on Services
Benchmarks: Tech Support Cost Ratios
Benchmarks: Revenue Per Employee, 2007
The Benchmark 50: Revenue Per Employee, 2007
Benchmarks: Operating Income Per Employee, 2007
Benchmarks: Return on Equity, 2007
The Benchmark 50: Return on Equity, 2007
Benchmarks: Operating Income
The Benchmark 50:
Benchmarks: General & Administrative, 2007
The Benchmark 50: General & Administrative, 2007
Google Survey Part I: Google for Promotion
Google Survey Part II: Google as a Platform
Google AdWords Survey Results
Benchmarks: Operating Income per Employee
The Benchmark 50: Operating Income Per Employee
Benchmarks: Research and Development, 2007
The Benchmark 50: Research and Development, 2007
Benchmarks: Research and Development
R&D Ratios, ‘04-’06
The Benchmark 50: Research & Development
Benchmarks: Research and Development
The Benchmark 50: Research and Development
Benchmarks: Research & Development
The Benchmark 50: Research & Development
Mergers, IPOs, and Venture Finance
SaaS In The M&A Arena
Negotiating Your Non-Compete Agreement
Q1 Analysis: M&A Hits New Record
Working Capital—Its Role in Deal Negotiations
Capitalization of Software R&D Choices
The 10 Second “What is My Company Worth?” Valuation
Due Diligence: Get Ready to Meet the Buyer’s Every Request
Preparing for the Sale: The Documents
The Top Five M&A Deals of the Past Five Years
Developing Solid Financial Projections
Seller Beware—Outside Deal Funding Required
What is a Recapitalization?
M&A vs. IPO
Protecting Your IP from Outsider (or Insider) Claims When You Sell Your Company
A Valuation Model for Subscription Revenues
What’s Your Company’s Value Multiplier?
Why Deals Fall Through
The 504b Option
M&A Valuation Trends
What Drives Valuation Multiples?
M&A Roundup: Valuation Multiples
Software M&A Transactions: Q1 2002
The True Value of an M&A Advisor
Angel Investors
Legal Strategies: What to Expect and Who Pays
Earnouts: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
When to Dig In Your Heels During Negotiations
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments—Q1, 2006
Asia Is Coming
Preferred Shares: The Monster That Ate Your Deal
Strategic versus Financial Buyers
Representations and Warranties Insurance
Reps and Warranties: Vital to the Deal
Why All the Focus on EBITDA?
M &A: A Global Process
Accounting Problems: Don’t Let Them Stop Your Deal
Due Diligence Tips for Sellers
When is the Right Time to Sell?
If it Takes 8 Months to Sell, When Should I Begin Planning?
Exit Strategies: Think M&A.
Is My Company Too Small to Sell?
The Ten Worst Things You Can Do
When Selling Your Software Company
The Ten Worst Things You Can Do
Getting a Deal Done: Spousal Approval
What Will Kill the Current Boom in Software M&A
Deal Killers: What’s Wrecking Value Today
The Power of the Minority
Negotiation Tactics
Passive vs. Active Shareholders
How to Detect a Non-Negotiating Buyer
Types of Statements That Can Spoil a Deal
Escrow Provisions in M&A Transactions
Using Strawmen in M&A Negotiations
Tax Reduction Tactics When Selling Your Company
The Art of the Earnout
How to Structure an Installment Sale
How to Negotiate an Asset Sale
How to Sell a Small Services Company
How to Sell Your Company When Shareholders Dissent
What to Do When a Deal Falls Through
How to Hang Onto Employees Through a Sale
How to Deal With a Weak Balance Sheet
How to Keep a Secret
M&A Trends: The First Six months of 2004
Exit Strategies: M&A vs. IPO
Working With International Buyers
What Do Financial Buyers Want?
What Do Strategic Buyers Look For?
On Negotiating a Technology License
How to Avoid “Haircuts”
The Role of Revenue Recognition
Checklist: The Letter of Intent
The Letter of Intent
The Sarbanes-Oxley Effect
How to Field an Unsolicited Offer
The Devil Is in the Deal Structure
Escrows and Holdbacks
Escrow Agreements in the Age of SaaS
Why Restricted Stock Is Risky
How to Structure an Earnout
ROI Calculators and Resources
Patent Management Resources
Are You the Big Dog in Your Vertical Market Niche?
Outsourcing to India
The Top 10 European Buyers
The Top 10 US M&A Buyers
When Your Sector Starts to Consolidate
Not All Revenue Is Created Equal
Impact of the Sub-Prime Meltdown on Software M&A
Yes, There Are Bad Deals
Keeping Negotiations Secret
Guy Art
Entrepreneurship: “Burn Your Business Plan”
Why Angels Fear to Tread
Creative Financing Tips From the Experts
HOW TO MANAGE INVESTORS
HOW TO BUILD BETTER BUSINESS PLANS
HOW TO STRUCTURE THE DEAL
HOW MUCH CASH SHOULD YOU RAISE?
ADVICE FROM A MASTER PLANNER
An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital Term Sheets
Venture Capital Directories
Benchmarks: Q1 2008 Venture Capital Investments
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments—Q1, 2008
Benchmarks: 2007 Venture Capital Investments
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments - 2007
Benchmarks: 2006 Venture Capital Investments
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments - 2006
Benchmarks: 2005 Venture Capital Investments
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments - 2005
Benchmarks: 2004 Venture Capital Investments
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments - 2004
Benchmarks: 2003 Venture Capital Investments
The Top 50: Software Venture Capital Investments - 2003
Compensation
How to Make Profit Sharing Work
Benchmarks: Employee Benefits
How Microsoft Measures Employees
How to Structure a Comp Plan
Climbing the Incentive Ladder
Incentive Plans: “Punished by Rewards”.
Severance Stats: What’s the Going Rate?
The Devaluation of Options
Options Grants by Job Title
How to Structure a Sales Comp Plan
Recruiting: It Matters Where You Look
Benchmarks: Chief Executive Officer Compensation, 2007
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company CEOs, 2007
Benchmarks: Chief Technical Officer Compensation, 2007
Benchmarks: COO Compensation
Benchmarks: CTO Compensation
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company CTOs
Benchmarks: CMO Compensation
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company CMOs
Benchmarks: Chief Sales Officer Compensation
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company Sales Executives
Benchmarks: Chief Financial Officer Compensation
The Top 50: Highest Paid Public Company CFOs
Programmer Salary Trends
Benchmarks: Tech Support Salary Trends
Data Points: Marketing Salaries
Data Points: Board of Directors Pay
Benchmarks: Board of Directors Compensation
Benchmarks: Product Manager Compensation
Benchmarks: Requirements Manager Compensation
The 2007 Softletter Sales Efficiency Survey: Summary Results
The 2007 Softletter Sales Efficiency Survey: Detailed Analyses
The Softletter 2007 Sales Efficiency Survey: Close Rates
Benchmarks: Detailed Enterprise and SaaS Sales Analyses
The 2007 Softletter Telesales Efficiency Survey: Summary Results
Valuing Options While Running the Compliance Gauntlet
Operations
Endangered Environments
Pricing and Value Approaches for Embedded Software
Non-Recurring Engineering
Minimizing Online Sales Fraud
Increasing Q&A Costs Squeeze Bottom Lines
The Micro-ISV Father Discusses the Kids
RIM vs NTP: The Fallout
Disadvantage: Microsoft
Automating Your Product Management Processes
Building a Balanced Executive Team
What’s Your Business Innovation IQ?
On Reinventing the Company.
How to Survive Financial ‘Peaks and Valleys’
A Growth Strategy Roadmap
The Growth Imperative
The Science of “Meaningful Marketing”
“A Fundamental Change in Economics”
Six Rules for Sustained Success
Do You Have the Right Number of Employees?
Commentary: Squeeze Play
How to Become a Productivity Superstar
How to Plan for Profits
How to Get Paid Faster
Cash Management: Who Gets Paid First?
Benchmarks: Days Sales Outstanding 2004-2006
The Benchmark 50: Days Sales Outstanding, 2004-2006
Travel Cost Ratios
Cost-Saving Tips From the Experts
HOW TO SAVE ON SALES & CUSTOMER SERVICE
HOW TO SAVE ON TECH SUPPORT
HOW TO SAVE ON PRINTING & PRODUCTION
Office Rentals
How to Break (or Bend) a Lease
The Soft•letter Occupancy Cost Survey
Telecom Cost-Savings Tips
On Trimming the SKU Count
How Microsoft Tamed the SKU Explosion
The Art of Small-Scale Manufacturing
Shopping Cart Abandon Rates
Why Web Stores Lose Money
Why Upgrade Campaigns Bog Down
On Two-Dimensional Pricing
The Psychology of Pricing
The Rebate Recoil
Pricing Strategies for Software Bundles
How to Price Support Contracts
A Service Pricing Checklist
How to Structure a Usage-Based Pricing Option
On Keeping Discounts Under Control
Eight Ways to Raise Prices
Five Pricing Pitfalls
Channel Optimization: Are You Giving the Channel Too Much?
Rebates vs. MDF
Keep Microsoft’s Pricing Changes in Perspective
The Economics of Subscription Software
How to Account for Services Revenues
ASP/SaaS Pricing Models
New Rules on the Road to Revenue Recognition
Comeback Kid: SaaS Comes off the Canvas
Software Cost Estimation
The Hidden Cost of Capital
What’s Your Financial IQ?
CardFile: Software Finance & Accounting
The Softletter/Prolexic Website Security Survey
Return Leaders: Conversation With the Founders: RightNow Technologies