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Lilia Shirman

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Managing Director, The Shirman Group

80 points

I help B2B technology companies grow. I focus on strategic planning, solutions and industry marketing, and making technology relevant to the business.

My book, 42 Rules of Growing Enterprise Revenue, is about how companies can matter more to their customers.

WEB: Blog

April 30, 2012

Lilia Shirman answered this question

What exactly is a market study?

A market study can include many things, most of which you won't have the resources or skills to do at first.
At the very basic level, do 2 things:
1. Talk to potential customers (give they the chance to try your product if possible). Find ... more

Product Development

April 26, 2012

Lilia Shirman asked a question

Have you ever received anything at a sales meeting that you actually kept?

Feb. 7, 2012

Lilia Shirman and 18 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Top Technology Marketers to Watch in 2012 [1/31 @ 1 pm]

Does the B2B distinction matter any more?

Great discussion! Let me try to translate the similarities and differences into something actionable.
MESSAGES: Everyone develops initial preference based on emotional response, whether they are making personal or business purchases. So you must appeal to the individual and their personal priorities (and recognize that ... more

Aug. 26, 2011

Lilia Shirman and 3 other people answered this question

What's your definition of a disruptive technology?

I respectfully disagree with Charlie. A disruptive technology is not about value and cost. Those are usually achieved by incremental improvements. A disruptive technology changes the way people (or companies) behave.
So:
Apple's iPod (and the iStore) changed how people consume music: song-by-song rather than ... more

Information Technology

Disruptive Technology

June 5, 2011

Lilia Shirman and 5 other people answered this question

Market Researchers: Is qualitative research more effective in B2C market research than B2B?

I completely agree with Frances - qualitative research is absolutely critical in B2B.
Beyond the number of customers available, a more important reason that qualitative is key to real understanding is that decisions made by businesses are much more complex than consumer decisions. Understanding how ... more

Market Research

May 6, 2011

Lilia Shirman and 2 other people answered this question

What does a corporation need to provide its salesforce to succeed?

To answer the question in the title: In every study I've ever read or conducted, the one thing that stays at the top are customer references.
All the travel, entertainment, and spiffs aside, when I think of sales support, I think of two things: education/tools ... more

Quota Achievement

March 17, 2011

Lilia Shirman and 25 other people answered this question

What is one mistake that you would caution a new entrepreneur to avoid?

Many great answer. The biggest and most prevalent mistake I see - being so enamored with what you offer that you assume you know why it matters to anyone, and don't take the time to LISTEN to lots of customers to understand what's relevant and ... more

Entrepreneuership

Feb. 12, 2011

Lilia Shirman and 4 other people answered this question

Which universities' alumni have started the most companies?

Stanford. You can't beat the proximity to Silicon Valley, money sources, entrepreneurial culture. HP, Google, Cisco, SGI, VMWare, Wipro, Sun, Gap, Varian, Yahoo!, Nike, Electronic Arts,... and if you count the VC's, like Geoff Yang and Steve Jurvetson and scores of others and all the ... more

Jan. 18, 2011

Lilia Shirman and 2 other people answered this question

Who do you trust more with your personal information Facebook or Google?

I see a few "neither" responses, and here's why I agree: Overcomplexity and over-connectivity.
Bill Davidow just wrote a book, Overconnected. His basic premise is that the Internet has made possible systems that are so complex and interconnected (OVER connected) that there is no way ... more

Human Resources

Nov. 10, 2010

Lilia Shirman and 1 other person answered this question

Go-to-market strategy?

That's a BIG question!
One way to slice it is what I call the "3 Lenses":
1. Outside-in: Target market selection as defined by intersections of customer segments and needs. This is closely linked with understanding and catering to specific use-cases of your product / ... more

General Management

General Business

Oct. 28, 2010

Lilia Shirman published a brief

Vertical Market Specialization by BtoB Vendors

Business Strategy

Following 12 Topics

Cloud Computing

General Management

Information Technology

Product Marketing

Sales Management

Sales Rep Enablement

Sales Strategies

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Followed by 6 People

Knowledgeable in 23 Topics

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