Category Archives: Kevin Custer

The Essentials of the CEO Role

While the nuances of a CEO position reflect some organizational specifics, the key goal is fundamentally the same everywhere: CEOs must increase the value of the enterprise, whether for shareholders or private ownership. And in order to build that value, CEOs must first build overwhelming confidence among the board in the CEO’s ability to lead […]

Metrics for Success

    Metrics for Success Company leaders often ask us about how they can measure success. First, metrics should be relatively simple – each person should be able to gather the numbers in less than 15 minutes each week. Second, you should only be measuring and tracking information that allows you and your leadership team […]

7 Summer To-Dos to Increase Next School Year’s Sales

School is wrapping up across the country, but for education companies, summer is no time to kick back and relax. With next year’s sales revenue riding on the ability to prep during the summer, the first step to success is understanding the selling cycle: As the sales cycle shows, being fully prepared at the start […]

Back to School – Is Your Education Business Ready?

Is your 2017-2018 Sales & Marketing Strategic & Tactical Plan ready to deliver your forecasted results? Education industry leadership teams are keenly focused on back to school sales, fulfillment and implementations. As product teams push to complete their final Q&A, customer service groups process orders and sales reps organize summer trainings, we urge you to […]

Twenty Percent to Improve Your Follow-Through

How often does the top of the hour roll around in a meeting or sales presentation, with everyone engaged but needing to run to their next meeting? The last few minutes are filled with vague statements to “follow up with this soon” – but too often, nothing happens. To avoid this, plan your meetings and […]

Could Field Sales Work for You?

For educational companies aiming for the best possible valuation, it is critical to demonstrate a sustainable income stream that is scalable, defensible and predictable. In fact, we see about a 30 to 50% premium on the valuation of companies that can sell in this way. How does a company show a scalable, defensible and predictable […]

Making the Most of Your Sales & Marketing Dollar

Arc is often asked our recommendations for best utilizing a limited marketing budget. When you have a limited sales and marketing budget (in the $4k range), it is critical to make sure you thoroughly understand your company’s goals and how to direct that money to meet your goals.  With that said, here are a few […]

Preparing for the 2016 Sales Year

With the last quarter of 2015 already here, it’s time to turn thoughts toward 2016 and how to best control your sales process. Going into the new year, you need to ensure you have a solid pipeline of qualified leads. If you’re selling a product or service for more than $5000, it’s very likely that […]

Edtech Investment Round-Up

U.S. edtech companies raised $350 million in Q3 2015, up 9% from Q3 2014. General Assembly’s $70 million led all deals for Q3, followed by Civitas Learning’s $60 million Series D. In August alone, U.S. education technology companies scored $91 million in venture capital, led by Coursera’s $49.5 million Series C round (which will likely […]