Managing University Start-ups using

Sales Force Automation Techniques Eric Alan Hill, Mississippi State University

Abstract As in the commercial sector, managing relationships and providing

adequate visibility to the highest value deals is essential to prioritize

sales efforts. The team at the Mississippi State Entrepreneurship

Center has adapted a number of sales force automation techniques

to better track start-ups through a defined pipeline and more

effectively identify key value-adds that the university can provide at

critical points along the way. The system and approach has allowed

the center's small team to scale its support from 15 potential deals

to 50 in less than 6-months.

Common Challenges

▲ Increase start-up support activity & quality?

▲ Proactively engage start-ups?

▲ Maintain continuity among staff?

▲ Increase visibility of active start-ups among

internal & external partners?

▲ Push more start-ups, further?

How Does One...

Many entrepreneurial support organizations face similar challenges,

which can be magnified within the university and academic

environment. The MSU team searched for a tool and management

methodology to target the following questions:

What is Sales Force Automation?

Abbreviated SFA, sales force automation is a technique of using

software to automate the business tasks of sales, including order

processing, contact management, information sharing, inventory

monitoring and control, order tracking, customer management, sales

forecast analysis and employee performance evaluation. SFA is often

used interchangeably with CRM; however, CRM does not necessarily

imply automation of sales tasks.1

Our team proposed adopting SFA and applying it to the

process of supporting start-ups.

Graduating a viable start-up

is “closing the deal.”

1) Idea

2) Customer Discovery

3) Structuring

4) Prototyping

5) Early Adopters

6) Product Refinement

7) Establish Trajectory

8) Graduate

Using familiar stages from modern start-up frameworks, the MSU team

adopted the following as sales process steps:

Tool Adopted The MSU team evaluated four tools, and ultimately because of its

focus on visibility of process, activity, and customizable flexibility,

the team selected Pipedrive. Four accounts were created for the

three team members and one account for external mentors.

End Result ▲ 3x volume of start-ups under guidance of our Center with same

staffing levels

▲ Activity emphasis materially increased retention and proactive

engagement – daily drive becomes, “What do we do to help the

start-ups listed here move one more step to the right?”

▲ Visibility for entire team and outside supporting mentors

▲ Meaningful metrics of office’s effectivity rather than

▲ Pace of start-ups reflecting the “fail fast, fail early” ideology

▲ Applied effort & resources vs. start-up outcome easily identified

Tracking the velocity of

a start-up team’s motion

through these process

steps has often proved

an indicator of

increased probability of

successful graduation.